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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  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. swing — to play on
  2. spring — of water
  3. field — for sport
  4. bass — low music
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. bass — the fish
  7. track — a song
  8. spring — a coil
  9. track — a path
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. fall — to drop
  13. swing — in golf
  14. track — to keep track
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. swing — music
  17. field — farmland
  18. spring — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. fall — the season
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  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