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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. file — a document
  4. hand — help
  5. suit — in cards
  6. squash — the sport
  7. swing — music
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a tool
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bass — low music
  15. suit — clothes
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bass — the fish
  19. squash — to crush
  20. suit — to fit
  21. hand — in cards
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — army training

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