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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. swing — to play on
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. spell — magic
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. swing — in golf
  10. spell — letters
  11. rash — hasty
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bass — the fish
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. swing — music
  18. rash — a series
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. sharp — clever
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. spell — a short time
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bass — low music

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