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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. trunk — of a car
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. swing — music
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. current — electric
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. current — happening now
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bass — the fish
  14. mate — a friend
  15. current — of water
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bass — low music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. mine — for digging
  20. swing — to play on
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — to wash
  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