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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. kid — child
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. field — a subject
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. root — of a plant
  11. pop — soda
  12. fork — in a road
  13. pop — music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. kid — to tease
  16. root — the cause
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. field — farmland
  20. pop — to visit
  21. root — of a word
  22. bass — the fish
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. field — for sport

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