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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cell — a phone
  5. swing — in golf
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. band — a music group
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bass — the fish
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bass — low music
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. band — a ring
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. kid — child
  23. swing — music
  24. cell — in biology

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