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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. ball — a great time
  4. field — a subject
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. ball — a dance
  10. object — a thing
  11. file — a line of people
  12. field — farmland
  13. file — a tool
  14. fork — in a road
  15. wake — a trail
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — music
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. field — for sport
  20. object — an aim
  21. file — a document
  22. perch — the fish
  23. object — to protest
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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