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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the fish
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. field — for sport
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. dip — to sink
  10. field — a subject
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. shower — rain
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. stand — to bear
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. ball — a dance
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. shower — to wash
  23. ball — a great time
  24. mine — for digging

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