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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. swing — to play on
  5. track — a song
  6. board — to get on
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bass — low music
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fork — in a road
  13. swing — in golf
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pop — soda
  17. swing — music
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. track — a path
  20. pop — to visit
  21. board — a committee
  22. bass — the fish
  23. pop — music
  24. fork — a garden tool

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