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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. field — farmland
  3. bass — low music
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bass — the fish
  9. deal — to handle
  10. clip — a video
  11. field — a subject
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. wound — an injury
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. wound — an injury
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. clip — to cut
  21. roll — a list
  22. roll — a cake
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. field — for sport

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