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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. object — a thing
  5. field — farmland
  6. court — for sport
  7. bass — the fish
  8. lean — thin
  9. object — an aim
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wound — an injury
  12. field — a subject
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. court — of law
  16. bass — low music
  17. lean — to bend
  18. court — of a king
  19. bat — the animal
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. object — to protest
  23. field — for sport
  24. mouse — for a computer

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