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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. ground — crushed
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. shower — to wash
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. branch — a division
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. bass — low music
  10. ground — a position
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. lean — to bend
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. lean — thin
  16. shower — rain
  17. board — a committee
  18. deal — to handle
  19. board — to get on
  20. bass — the fish
  21. ground — the earth
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. patient — a sick person

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