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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bank — for money
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. land — to come down
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. race — humankind
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. land — ground
  10. race — a contest
  11. field — for sport
  12. land — a country
  13. field — farmland
  14. bank — for money
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bass — low music
  21. race — the arms race
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bank — of a river

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