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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. sharp — clever
  4. swing — in golf
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bass — low music
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. fine — all right
  10. swing — music
  11. kid — child
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for dancing
  15. swing — to play on
  16. club — for golf
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. date — the fruit
  24. bass — the fish

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