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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. bass — low music
  4. ball — a great time
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — army training
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. ball — a dance
  10. capital — a city
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. capital — money
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. drill — the tool
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. hand — in cards
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. field — farmland
  20. bass — the fish
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. field — for sport
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. hand — help

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