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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — obliged
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. field — for sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bound — tied together
  11. field — a subject
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. rock — music
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bass — low music
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. rock — a stone
  20. field — farmland
  21. wake — a trail
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bass — the fish

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