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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  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. bass — low music
  2. roll — a list
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. mate — to breed
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — music
  7. roll — a cake
  8. march — the month
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bass — the fish
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. lean — to bend
  14. march — the month
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. mate — a partner
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — for betting
  20. swing — to play on
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. march — music
  23. lean — thin
  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