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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. band — a ring
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. swing — to play on
  12. pit — a hole
  13. mate — a partner
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bass — the fish
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bass — low music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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