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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. field — farmland
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. swing — to play on
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rash — hasty
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. rash — a series
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. swing — in golf
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. deal — to handle

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