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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — low music
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. roll — a cake
  5. season — of the year
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. prune — to trim
  11. swing — to play on
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a list
  15. tube — a container
  16. swing — in golf
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. swing — music
  19. season — in sport
  20. tube — the underground
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. prune — to trim

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