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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. field — a subject
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. field — farmland
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. hand — help
  18. field — for sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. season — in sport
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rest — a break

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