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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. field — a subject
  6. bass — low music
  7. march — the month
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. bore — to drill
  12. net — after costs
  13. pitch — completely
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — in sport
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. kick — in football
  21. field — for sport
  22. bore — to tire
  23. field — farmland
  24. snap — to click

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