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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. rock — music
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. object — to protest
  5. tube — the underground
  6. chest — of your body
  7. object — an aim
  8. drill — the tool
  9. march — the month
  10. snap — to click
  11. chest — a box
  12. swing — to play on
  13. march — the month
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — army training
  16. tube — a container
  17. object — a thing
  18. swing — in golf
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rock — a stone
  21. march — music
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. chest — of your body

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