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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — the fish
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bass — low music
  9. board — a committee
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cold — not warm
  15. swing — music
  16. file — a document
  17. tear — from crying
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. board — to get on
  20. swing — in golf
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. kick — in football
  24. tear — to rip

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