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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. pound — a weight
  4. field — a subject
  5. fork — in a road
  6. spell — a short time
  7. field — for sport
  8. bass — low music
  9. field — farmland
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — magic
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bear — the animal

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