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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wind — moving air
  3. field — for sport
  4. pop — music
  5. bass — low music
  6. pop — soda
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. chest — a box
  9. stand — to bear
  10. bass — the fish
  11. chest — of your body
  12. field — a subject
  13. mug — a cup
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mug — to rob
  16. object — a thing
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. pop — to visit
  20. wind — moving air
  21. object — to protest
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. object — an aim
  24. mug — a face

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