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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. swing — in golf
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. chest — of your body
  6. march — the month
  7. swing — to play on
  8. chest — a box
  9. march — the month
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. chest — of your body
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. shower — to wash
  14. wound — an injury
  15. march — music
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wound — an injury
  22. shower — rain
  23. rush — hurry
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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