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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. track — a path
  5. spell — letters
  6. wind — moving air
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wind — moving air
  17. track — a song
  18. craft — boats
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. craft — a skill
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. spell — magic
  23. bass — low music
  24. cell — a phone

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