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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. lie — to recline
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — to crush
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rock — music
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. rock — a stone
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. plane — a tool
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cold — not warm
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. field — for sport
  19. bass — the fish
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. field — a subject
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bass — low music

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