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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. field — a subject
  3. swing — music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. field — farmland
  7. shower — to wash
  8. land — a country
  9. land — to come down
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. bass — low music
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. pass — a permit
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. swing — in golf
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. land — ground
  21. field — for sport
  22. swing — to play on
  23. shower — rain
  24. chest — of your body

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