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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. swing — to play on
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. rock — music
  6. row — to paddle
  7. firm — steady
  8. bass — the fish
  9. prune — to trim
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. firm — a company
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. row — a line
  14. firm — decided
  15. bass — low music
  16. hand — in cards
  17. wax — to grow
  18. rock — a stone
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. hand — help
  21. prune — to trim
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. bass — the instrument

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