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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. can — a tin
  3. field — for sport
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. can — to be able to
  6. court — of a king
  7. can — a tin
  8. bass — the fish
  9. swing — in golf
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. current — of water
  13. swing — music
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bass — low music
  16. current — electric
  17. court — of law
  18. court — for sport
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. cell — a phone
  21. prune — to trim
  22. current — happening now
  23. swing — to play on
  24. field — a subject

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com