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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bass — low music
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bass — the fish
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. lean — thin
  8. field — for sport
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. lean — to bend
  15. bound — tied together
  16. kick — in football
  17. mug — to rob
  18. bound — certain
  19. field — farmland
  20. mug — a face
  21. field — a subject
  22. pound — a weight
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. mug — a cup

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