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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 120 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rock — music
  3. bass — the fish
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. march — the month
  8. field — farmland
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. march — music
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. prune — to trim
  13. march — the month
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. field — a subject
  17. bear — the animal
  18. rock — a stone
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bass — low music
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bear — the animal
  24. coach — a trainer

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