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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fork — in a road
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. tear — to rip
  11. swing — music
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bass — the fish
  16. tear — from crying
  17. swing — to play on
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bass — low music
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. cell — in biology
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cell — in a prison

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