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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 116 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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. prune — to trim
  3. club — for dancing
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. spring — of water
  7. club — for golf
  8. field — for sport
  9. track — a song
  10. firm — decided
  11. field — a subject
  12. club — a group
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. snap — to click
  16. kick — in football
  17. spring — the season
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. prune — to trim
  20. track — a path
  21. spring — a coil
  22. firm — a company
  23. track — to keep track
  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