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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. field — a subject
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. spring — the season
  6. cap — a hat
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of law
  9. spring — of water
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. field — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. cap — a lid
  17. spring — a coil
  18. ball — a great time
  19. field — farmland
  20. bass — low music
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. cap — of ice
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a dance

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