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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. land — ground
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. swing — in golf
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. sharp — clever
  10. club — for dancing
  11. wind — moving air
  12. firm — a company
  13. club — a group
  14. wind — moving air
  15. firm — steady
  16. club — for golf
  17. row — a line
  18. shower — to wash
  19. land — a country
  20. shower — rain
  21. land — to come down
  22. firm — decided
  23. row — to paddle
  24. swing — to play on

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