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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. field — farmland
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bound — tied together
  5. club — a group
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. club — for golf
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. bass — the fish
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bound — certain
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bound — obliged
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. chair — a leader
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. club — for dancing

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