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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pass — a permit
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. field — a subject
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. foot — a measure
  10. craft — a skill
  11. bass — low music
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. clip — a video
  14. chest — a box
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bass — the fish
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. craft — boats
  22. field — for sport
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. pitcher — a jug

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