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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 116 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. track — a path
  4. board — to get on
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. club — for golf
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — a committee
  13. sharp — clever
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. club — for dancing
  17. swing — to play on
  18. track — a song
  19. track — to keep track
  20. club — a group
  21. capital — money
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. swing — in golf
  24. capital — a city

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