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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. mug — a face
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. pop — music
  6. field — for sport
  7. mug — to rob
  8. field — a subject
  9. pop — soda
  10. wind — moving air
  11. toast — bread
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. land — ground
  14. field — farmland
  15. bat — the animal
  16. mug — a cup
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. squash — to crush
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. wind — moving air
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. toast — the most admired

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