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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — the fish
  3. ground — a position
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. field — farmland
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. squash — to crush
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — a phone
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. fine — all right
  12. squash — the sport
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. ground — crushed
  15. pound — a weight
  16. ground — the earth
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. field — a subject
  22. bass — low music
  23. field — for sport
  24. fine — high quality

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