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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. drill — the tool
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bass — the fish
  7. drill — army training
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. field — a subject
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. craft — boats
  13. field — farmland
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. tear — to rip
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. tear — from crying
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. field — for sport
  21. drill — a practice
  22. craft — a skill
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — a video

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