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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. field — a subject
  3. swing — music
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bass — low music
  7. swing — to play on
  8. field — farmland
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. branch — a division
  12. field — for sport
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. fall — to drop
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bass — the fish
  17. pass — a permit
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. swing — in golf
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. fall — the season
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to bend
  24. bass — the instrument

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