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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bass — low music
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. swing — in golf
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. shower — rain
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bass — the fish
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. shower — to wash
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. swing — 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