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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. bass — low music
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cue — a hint
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cue — for pool
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cue — a signal
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. swing — in golf
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bass — the instrument

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