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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. field — for sport
  5. bass — the fish
  6. fall — to drop
  7. dip — to sink
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bass — low music
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. field — a subject
  18. saw — the tool
  19. squash — to crush
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — the vegetable

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