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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. cap — a lid
  5. field — for sport
  6. cap — a hat
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. field — farmland
  10. pop — soda
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. plane — a tool
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wind — moving air
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pop — music
  18. field — a subject
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cap — of ice
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. plane — in geometry

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