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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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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: field · roll · bass · tear · squash · pitcher · cue · sharp

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. roll — a list
  6. cue — a signal
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. field — for sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. cue — for pool
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. roll — a cake
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. squash — the sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. tear — to rip
  22. field — a subject
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cue — a hint

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