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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pit — a hole
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pit — in a race
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — low music
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. field — for sport
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — to tease
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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