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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 120 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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. hand — help
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. spring — the season
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bass — the fish
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. bass — low music
  10. hand — in cards
  11. spring — a coil
  12. swing — music
  13. spring — of water
  14. net — for catching
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. hand — part of the body

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