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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 120 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. kid — to tease
  4. tube — a container
  5. kid — child
  6. swing — to play on
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. spell — letters
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. net — in sport
  14. tube — the underground
  15. spell — magic
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. swing — in golf
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bass — the fish
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — after costs
  24. swing — music

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