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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. field — for sport
  3. shower — to wash
  4. spring — the season
  5. pop — to visit
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. object — a thing
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pop — music
  11. object — to protest
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. fall — the season
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. shower — rain
  16. pop — soda
  17. spring — of water
  18. field — a subject
  19. spring — a coil
  20. field — farmland
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. object — an aim

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