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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 120 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. field — farmland
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. current — happening now
  5. row — a line
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. track — to keep track
  9. squash — to crush
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — a tool
  12. field — for sport
  13. track — a path
  14. field — a subject
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. track — a song
  18. current — electric
  19. rush — hurry
  20. row — to paddle
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. current — of water
  23. bass — the fish
  24. squash — the sport

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