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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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Word bank
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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. perch — the fish
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. bass — low music
  7. ball — a dance
  8. swing — in golf
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bass — the fish
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. swing — to play on
  13. rush — hurry
  14. swing — music
  15. field — a subject
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. ball — a great time
  18. cell — in biology
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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