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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 116 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — low music
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. hand — help
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. bore — to drill
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bore — to tire
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. net — in sport
  12. bass — the fish
  13. net — for catching
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. net — after costs
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. calf — a young animal

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