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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. scale — in music
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. last — to go on
  5. swing — to play on
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. content — happy
  12. file — a tool
  13. swing — in golf
  14. game — a match
  15. file — a line of people
  16. last — finally
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bark — to shout
  20. last — final
  21. plane — a tool
  22. game — wild animals
  23. file — a document
  24. scale — size or range

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