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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 116 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. file — a tool
  3. track — a song
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. capital — money
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. file — a line of people
  9. track — to keep track
  10. pop — music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. track — a path
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. file — a document
  19. capital — a city
  20. bass — the fish
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — to visit
  23. swing — music
  24. bass — low 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