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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. land — ground
  3. field — farmland
  4. bass — low music
  5. land — to come down
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bank — for money
  9. spring — of water
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. spring — a coil
  12. lean — thin
  13. bass — the fish
  14. field — a subject
  15. land — a country
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bank — for money
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. wind — moving air
  21. chair — a leader
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. spring — the season
  24. lean — to bend

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