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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. lean — to bend
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. field — for sport
  9. branch — a division
  10. lean — thin
  11. field — a subject
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. plane — a tool
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bass — the fish
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. field — farmland
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. racket — for tennis

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