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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. bass — the fish
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. chest — a box
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. field — for sport
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. chest — of your body

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