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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. roll — a cake
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wound — an injury
  6. spell — a short time
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. spell — magic
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. stand — to bear
  14. cap — of ice
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spell — letters
  17. pop — music
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. field — a subject
  21. roll — a list
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. cap — a hat

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