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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. pit — a hole
  3. bass — low music
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. court — of a king
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. field — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. tear — from crying
  15. squash — the sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. squash — to crush
  18. tear — to rip
  19. field — farmland
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. court — for sport
  24. pit — in a race

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