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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 116 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bass — the fish
  3. key — the most important part
  4. key — for a lock
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bass — low music
  7. prune — to trim
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. stand — to bear
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — of water
  16. key — in music
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wake — a trail
  19. field — farmland
  20. spring — the season
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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