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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. row — a line
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pop — soda
  6. chest — of your body
  7. swing — to play on
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rash — hasty
  10. chest — a box
  11. pop — music
  12. rock — music
  13. rock — a stone
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rash — a series
  16. swing — music
  17. suit — in cards
  18. swing — in golf
  19. chest — of your body
  20. row — to paddle
  21. suit — clothes
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. suit — to fit

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