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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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Word bank
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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  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 — the instrument
  2. tube — the underground
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bass — low music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bass — the fish
  11. craft — a skill
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. pitch — completely
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. tube — a container
  19. craft — boats
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. kid — child
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. swing — in golf
  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