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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. game — a match
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. squash — to crush
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. squash — the sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. field — farmland
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bass — the fish
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  24. patient — a sick person

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