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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. swing — to play on
  3. rock — music
  4. row — a line
  5. craft — boats
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rock — a stone
  14. row — to paddle
  15. craft — a skill
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. swing — in golf
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. wound — an injury
  23. swing — music
  24. rash — hasty

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