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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. bass — low music
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. march — the month
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. can — a tin
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. march — music
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. field — farmland
  18. march — the month
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. field — for sport
  22. can — to be able to
  23. can — a tin
  24. bass — the fish

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