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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. swing — to play on
  3. chest — of your body
  4. game — a match
  5. wind — moving air
  6. swing — music
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. chest — a box
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bass — low music
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. rock — music
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. swing — in golf
  19. bass — the fish
  20. rock — a stone
  21. game — wild animals
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wake — a trail
  24. chair — a professorship

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