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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. field — farmland
  3. tube — a container
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. field — for sport
  8. toast — bread
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. bank — for money
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bass — low music
  14. bank — for money
  15. field — a subject
  16. bass — the fish
  17. tube — the underground
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bank — of a river
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. calf — of the leg

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