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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. field — farmland
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cap — of ice
  5. field — a subject
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. field — for sport
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cap — a lid
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — music
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bass — the fish
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. rash — a series
  21. cap — a hat
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bowl — a football final

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