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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bass — low music
  3. bulb — for light
  4. swing — to play on
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. scale — in music
  7. bass — the fish
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a path
  10. swing — in golf
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. track — a song
  19. swing — music
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. fork — in a road
  24. straw — dry grass

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