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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. band — a music group
  3. bass — low music
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bass — the fish
  6. swing — to play on
  7. chest — a box
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. net — for catching
  10. vault — a safe
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. field — for sport
  13. net — in sport
  14. pop — to visit
  15. swing — in golf
  16. band — a ring
  17. field — a subject
  18. net — after costs
  19. pop — soda
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. chest — of your body
  22. field — farmland
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. pop — 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