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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. field — a subject
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. drill — army training
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. bulb — for light
  7. ground — the earth
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. toast — bread
  10. drill — a practice
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bass — the fish
  14. scale — in music
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bulb — for light
  18. field — for sport
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. scale — size or range
  23. field — farmland
  24. calf — of the leg

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