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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. swing — in golf
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. field — farmland
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. swing — music
  11. game — wild animals
  12. field — for sport
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bass — low music
  15. swing — to play on
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bass — the fish
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. field — a subject
  22. bulb — for light
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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