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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — music
  5. key — the most important part
  6. pop — soda
  7. bass — the fish
  8. field — for sport
  9. prune — to trim
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bass — low music
  13. key — in music
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. prune — to trim
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. wake — a trail
  19. chair — a leader
  20. key — for a lock
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — a subject

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