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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: pound · fan · tear · swing · bulb · bass · land · field

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. tear — to rip
  3. field — farmland
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. pound — a weight
  10. bass — the fish
  11. land — a country
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. field — for sport
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. swing — to play on
  17. field — a subject
  18. bass — low music
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bulb — for light
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. bulb — for light

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