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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — low music
  3. present — there
  4. field — a subject
  5. rock — a stone
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. field — for sport
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. fall — the season
  10. squash — to crush
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. rock — music
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. present — a gift
  16. field — farmland
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. present — the time now
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pound — a weight
  23. squash — the sport
  24. capital — money

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