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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pop — soda
  4. race — a contest
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. race — humankind
  11. craft — a skill
  12. pop — music
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wound — an injury
  15. game — a match
  16. craft — boats
  17. field — for sport
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. wound — an injury
  23. field — a subject
  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