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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. firm — steady
  3. field — a subject
  4. prune — to trim
  5. spell — a short time
  6. march — the month
  7. face — part of the head
  8. field — farmland
  9. spell — magic
  10. march — music
  11. firm — decided
  12. field — for sport
  13. prune — to trim
  14. face — to point toward
  15. last — final
  16. march — the month
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. last — to go on
  19. spell — letters
  20. face — to confront
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. last — finally
  24. firm — a company

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