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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — low music
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fork — in a road
  6. last — finally
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. bark — to shout
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. last — to go on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. last — final
  18. swing — to play on
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. swing — music
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. wound — an injury

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