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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. game — a match
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. suit — in cards
  5. cell — in biology
  6. hand — in cards
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. game — wild animals
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. field — a subject
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — low music
  17. mug — to rob
  18. mug — a face
  19. suit — to fit
  20. suit — clothes
  21. mug — a cup
  22. fork — in a road
  23. hand — help
  24. cell — a phone

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