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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. hand — help
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bass — low music
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — the fish
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. spring — of water
  15. stem — to come from
  16. hand — in cards
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. swing — music
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. spring — the season
  24. bowl — a football final

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