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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  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 — the instrument
  2. field — farmland
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — help
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. bass — the fish
  7. field — a subject
  8. board — to get on
  9. foot — a measure
  10. kid — to tease
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. bass — low music
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — obliged
  18. field — for sport
  19. kid — child
  20. bound — certain
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a friend
  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