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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 116 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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. vault — a safe
  8. shower — to wash
  9. plane — a tool
  10. bass — the fish
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. saw — the tool
  13. stock — shares
  14. saw — the tool
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. stock — goods
  18. bass — low music
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. field — a subject
  24. shower — rain

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