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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. march — the month
  4. can — a tin
  5. bass — the fish
  6. field — farmland
  7. wound — an injury
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bass — low music
  11. can — a tin
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. field — for sport
  14. march — music
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. field — a subject
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. lie — to recline
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pit — in a race
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. march — the month

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