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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. wound — an injury
  3. swing — music
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bound — certain
  6. file — a line of people
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bass — the fish
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. file — a document
  12. stem — to come from
  13. wound — an injury
  14. file — a tool
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. swing — in golf
  18. stem — of a plant

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