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

Word bank: bass · leaves · fork · dip · stick · present · wind · field

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. field — a subject
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. present — there
  10. present — the time now
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. fork — in a road
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. leaves — to go away

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