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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. present — a gift
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. hand — in cards
  5. field — farmland
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bank — of a river
  9. present — there
  10. present — the time now
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. drill — the tool
  13. field — a subject
  14. wound — an injury
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — army training
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bank — for money
  19. hand — help
  20. bass — the fish
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bank — for money
  23. bass — low music
  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