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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. pop — music
  4. pop — soda
  5. mate — to breed
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mine — for digging
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. field — for sport
  12. hand — help
  13. mate — a partner
  14. rock — music
  15. field — a subject
  16. pitch — completely
  17. hand — in cards
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. rock — a stone
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. mate — a friend
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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