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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. shower — rain
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. field — for sport
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bass — the fish
  14. hand — in cards
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. field — a subject
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hand — help
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. shower — to wash
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bass — low music
  24. field — farmland

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