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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 120 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. face — part of the head
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. cell — a phone
  7. swing — music
  8. wound — an injury
  9. face — to confront
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cell — in biology
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — music
  14. face — to point toward
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. saw — the tool
  21. row — a line
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. row — to paddle

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