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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: field · last · wound · snap · ball · tear · bass · present

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. field — for sport
  4. last — finally
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. tear — from crying
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. last — final
  9. present — the time now
  10. field — farmland
  11. last — to go on
  12. wound — an injury
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the fish
  17. ball — a dance
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. tear — to rip
  21. ball — a great time
  22. tear — from crying
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — there

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