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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 120 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 is an ace ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. field — farmland
  4. scale — in music
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. field — for sport
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. spring — a coil
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. spring — of water
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. spring — the season
  23. bass — low music
  24. field — a subject

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