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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. field — farmland
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. kid — child
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bass — the fish
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. squash — to crush
  13. field — a subject
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. chair — a leader
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. kid — to tease
  20. scale — size or range
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. field — for sport
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bass — low music

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