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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. foot — a measure
  3. game — a match
  4. prune — to trim
  5. field — a subject
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. prune — to trim
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. bass — the fish
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — of water
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. chair — a leader
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — wild animals
  19. field — farmland
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. spring — a coil
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. bass — low music
  24. field — for sport

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