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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. pop — to visit
  3. board — a committee
  4. field — a subject
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bore — to tire
  8. field — for sport
  9. chip — to eat
  10. field — farmland
  11. squash — to crush
  12. chip — for betting
  13. squash — the sport
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. pop — soda
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bore — to drill
  18. board — to get on
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bass — low music
  21. bass — the fish
  22. face — to confront
  23. pop — music
  24. board — a flat piece

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