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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. tear — from crying
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pound — a weight
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. field — for sport
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. field — a subject
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. field — farmland
  20. bass — low music
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. sharp — clever
  24. tear — to rip

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