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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. wind — moving air
  5. swing — in golf
  6. row — a line
  7. swing — music
  8. row — to paddle
  9. club — a group
  10. rest — a break
  11. club — for dancing
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bat — the animal
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. rest — what's left
  23. club — for golf
  24. bat — for baseball

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