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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. ball — a great time
  3. present — a gift
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. march — the month
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. march — the month
  13. present — there
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. present — the time now
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. kid — child
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. march — music
  23. kid — to tease
  24. wake — a trail

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