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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. court — for sport
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. wound — an injury
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. court — of law
  12. scale — in music
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. date — the fruit
  16. court — of a king
  17. wound — an injury
  18. swing — music
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bass — low music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. scale — size or range
  24. calf — a young animal

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