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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. branch — a division
  4. firm — steady
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. tear — from crying
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. rock — a stone
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bat — the animal
  11. firm — a company
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. dip — to sink
  14. tear — from crying
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. tear — to rip
  19. rock — music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. row — a line
  22. swing — in golf
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. firm — decided

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