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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. swing — music
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. swing — in golf
  5. mate — a partner
  6. row — to paddle
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. mate — a friend
  10. row — a line
  11. bass — the fish
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bass — low music
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. cell — a phone
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. file — a tool
  19. mate — to breed
  20. cell — in biology
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. file — a document
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. cell — in a prison

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