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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. squash — the sport
  3. deal — to handle
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. net — after costs
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. field — for sport
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. rash — hasty
  17. prune — to trim
  18. net — for catching
  19. field — farmland
  20. rash — a series
  21. mine — for digging
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bark — to shout
  24. net — in 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