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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — to paddle
  4. fine — high quality
  5. field — a subject
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. row — a line
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rest — a break
  10. fine — all right
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. rest — what's left
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. rest — what's left
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a committee

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