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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bear — the animal
  4. date — the fruit
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bass — low music
  7. fall — the season
  8. tube — a container
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. fall — to drop
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. fall — to drop
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bear — the animal
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. tube — in a tire

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