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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. ground — crushed
  3. foot — a measure
  4. branch — a division
  5. saw — the tool
  6. swing — in golf
  7. tear — from crying
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bass — the fish
  12. mate — a friend
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. tear — from crying
  16. swing — music
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. ground — the earth
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. ground — a position
  21. mate — to breed
  22. tear — to rip
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. saw — the tool

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