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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. field — for sport
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. field — farmland
  8. swing — music
  9. pound — a weight
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. fine — high quality
  12. capital — a city
  13. swing — to play on
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. fine — all right
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. field — a subject
  18. pass — a permit
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. prune — to trim
  21. swing — in golf
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. pound — to hit hard

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