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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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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 · pop · dip · bass · pitcher · date · wind · wound

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. field — for sport
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wind — moving air
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pop — soda
  9. wound — an injury
  10. field — a subject
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. dip — to sink
  17. field — farmland
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bass — low music
  21. pop — music
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. pop — to visit

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