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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. net — in sport
  3. bass — low music
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. field — for sport
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. bass — the fish
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. present — a gift
  12. field — farmland
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. net — for catching
  16. present — the time now
  17. net — after costs
  18. present — there
  19. field — a subject
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a match
  23. bat — the animal
  24. coach — a trainer

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