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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. field — a subject
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. board — to get on
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. board — a committee
  9. kid — child
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rash — hasty
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bass — low music
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. rash — a series
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. kid — to tease
  24. board — a flat piece

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