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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. object — to protest
  4. field — a subject
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. field — farmland
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. object — a thing
  10. spring — the season
  11. object — an aim
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — a trail
  16. spring — a coil
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. spring — of water
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — to be able to
  21. prune — to trim
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the sport
  24. field — for sport

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