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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. track — a song
  3. track — to keep track
  4. squash — to crush
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. wind — moving air
  7. field — farmland
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. track — a path
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. field — a subject
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. field — for sport
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. mine — for digging
  21. squash — the sport
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. wind — to turn a key

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