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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bass — the fish
  4. club — for dancing
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. board — a committee
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. swing — music
  12. kid — to tease
  13. club — a group
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. scale — size or range
  17. kid — child
  18. club — for golf
  19. board — to get on
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bass — low music
  23. fork — in a road
  24. swing — in golf

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