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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pop — soda
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. field — for sport
  9. current — of water
  10. pop — music
  11. field — a subject
  12. ground — a position
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. current — electric
  18. pop — to visit
  19. current — happening now
  20. ground — crushed
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. ground — the earth
  24. field — farmland

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