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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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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: bat · face · net · rest · bass · ball · field · swing

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bat — the animal
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bass — low music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ball — a great time
  10. rest — what's left
  11. net — after costs
  12. face — to confront
  13. swing — music
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. field — farmland
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to point toward
  19. field — a subject
  20. rest — a break
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. field — for sport
  23. net — in sport
  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