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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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 — farmland
  2. pop — to visit
  3. spell — a short time
  4. hand — help
  5. bass — the fish
  6. spell — magic
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. bass — low music
  10. spell — letters
  11. hand — in cards
  12. board — a committee
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. scale — in music
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. board — to get on
  17. field — a subject
  18. pop — music
  19. scale — size or range
  20. pop — soda
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. field — for sport
  23. hand — part of the body
  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