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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. fall — to drop
  3. craft — boats
  4. face — to point toward
  5. squash — to crush
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. face — part of the head
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bass — low music
  11. craft — a skill
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. fall — the season
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bass — the fish
  16. swing — music
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. squash — the sport
  19. face — to confront
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. fall — to drop
  22. swing — to play on
  23. date — the fruit
  24. swing — in golf

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