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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pop — music
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. field — a subject
  7. perch — the fish
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bass — low music
  10. field — farmland
  11. bass — the fish
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. field — for sport
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pop — soda
  19. root — the cause
  20. pitch — completely
  21. root — of a word
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. root — of a plant
  24. patient — a sick person

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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