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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 124 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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. cue — a hint
  5. swing — in golf
  6. sharp — clever
  7. swing — music
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. shower — rain
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cue — a signal
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitch — completely
  16. bass — low music
  17. bass — the fish
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. swing — to play on
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. cue — for pool
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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