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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. game — wild animals
  3. swing — in golf
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. lean — thin
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. march — the month
  10. swing — music
  11. scale — in music
  12. hand — help
  13. snap — to click
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bass — low music
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. march — music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. lean — to bend
  20. bass — the fish
  21. scale — size or range
  22. march — the month
  23. swing — to play on
  24. hand — part of the body

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