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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. band — a ring
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bass — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. ball — a dance
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. swing — in golf
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. swing — to play on
  15. cold — not warm
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. ball — a great time
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a music group
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. swing — 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