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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 116 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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. ground — the earth
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. drill — army training
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. land — ground
  8. ground — crushed
  9. land — to come down
  10. bass — the fish
  11. season — of the year
  12. drill — a practice
  13. stock — goods
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. ground — a position
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — shares
  20. drill — the tool
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. land — a country
  23. season — in sport
  24. bass — the instrument

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