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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: roll · date · board · wind · sharp · field · bass · swing

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. field — a subject
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. field — farmland
  5. bass — the fish
  6. swing — music
  7. bass — low music
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. board — to get on
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. roll — a list
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. wind — moving air
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. board — a committee
  20. field — for sport
  21. roll — a cake
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. sharp — clever

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