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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. swing — in golf
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. mug — a cup
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mug — to rob
  7. swing — music
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — a short time
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spell — magic
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. net — in sport
  15. swing — to play on
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bark — to shout
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mug — a face
  20. net — after costs
  21. mine — for digging
  22. net — for catching
  23. bass — low music
  24. bark — of a tree

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