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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. spell — letters
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bound — tied together
  7. wound — an injury
  8. shower — rain
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. spell — magic
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bass — low music
  14. bound — obliged
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bound — certain
  22. fork — in a road
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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