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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: bass · field · wind · pop · pitcher · season · lean · drill

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. wind — moving air
  3. field — a subject
  4. bass — the fish
  5. season — of the year
  6. pop — music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. season — in sport
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. drill — the tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bass — low music
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. field — for sport
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. field — farmland
  19. drill — army training
  20. pop — to visit
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. drill — a practice
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to bend

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