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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  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. field — a subject
  2. rest — a break
  3. bass — the fish
  4. file — a document
  5. net — after costs
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. file — a line of people
  8. net — for catching
  9. wake — a trail
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. swing — in golf
  12. bass — low music
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — to play on
  15. net — in sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. rest — what's left
  18. field — for sport
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. file — a tool
  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