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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bass — low music
  5. rock — music
  6. drill — the tool
  7. current — happening now
  8. field — a subject
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. drill — a practice
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. field — for sport
  14. drill — army training
  15. current — of water
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. degree — an amount
  18. current — electric
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — from a university

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