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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. last — final
  6. bat — the animal
  7. field — for sport
  8. file — a document
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — a series
  13. swing — music
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. last — to go on
  16. file — a tool
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. last — finally
  19. stand — to bear
  20. swing — in golf
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. file — a line of people
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bass — low music

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