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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · bay · field · toast · drill · bass · hand · dip

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. toast — bread
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. hand — help
  6. wound — an injury
  7. field — for sport
  8. drill — a practice
  9. hand — in cards
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. field — farmland
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. dip — to sink
  21. drill — army training
  22. field — a subject
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. bass — low music

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