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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. fall — to drop
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. field — farmland
  5. net — for catching
  6. swing — to play on
  7. roll — a list
  8. net — in sport
  9. fall — the season
  10. can — to be able to
  11. fall — to drop
  12. file — a document
  13. roll — a cake
  14. field — for sport
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. swing — in golf
  17. net — after costs
  18. can — a tin
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. field — a subject
  24. can — a tin

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