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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. rock — a stone
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. chest — a box
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. swing — music
  11. rock — music
  12. bass — low music
  13. wound — an injury
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. swing — in golf
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. tear — to rip
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. wound — an injury
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. tear — from crying

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