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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bass — the fish
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. swing — to play on
  8. fork — in a road
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. ball — a dance
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. present — a gift
  16. ball — a great time
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. present — there
  20. swing — music
  21. present — the time now
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wound — an injury
  24. swing — in golf

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