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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. squash — the sport
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — a weight
  7. field — for sport
  8. wake — a trail
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. swing — to play on
  12. squash — to crush
  13. field — a subject
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. field — farmland
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pound — for dogs

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