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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — low music
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. net — after costs
  8. field — a subject
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bass — the fish
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. rest — what's left
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. rest — a break
  17. field — for sport
  18. net — in sport
  19. rest — what's left
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. field — farmland
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. lie — to recline
  24. net — for catching

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