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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. swing — to play on
  3. kid — child
  4. current — of water
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. current — happening now
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pop — to visit
  9. current — electric
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. row — to paddle
  13. pound — a weight
  14. kid — to tease
  15. pop — soda
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. bass — low music
  18. band — a ring
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bass — the fish
  21. pop — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. band — a music group

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