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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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468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bass · tube · wound · game · spell · field · racket · mouse

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wound — an injury
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. spell — a short time
  6. game — a match
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. tube — a container
  14. game — wild animals
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — low music
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — a subject

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