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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 120 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. track — a path
  3. squash — to crush
  4. scale — size or range
  5. bass — the fish
  6. spell — magic
  7. track — to keep track
  8. row — to paddle
  9. spell — a short time
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. scale — in music
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bass — low music
  14. field — a subject
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. spell — letters
  19. row — a line
  20. track — a song
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. field — for sport
  24. squash — the 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