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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. cold — not warm
  3. swing — music
  4. band — a music group
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. band — a ring
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mug — a cup
  10. mug — to rob
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mug — a face
  14. mark — a trace
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. deal — to handle
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. cold — an illness
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. mark — a grade

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