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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 have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. field — a subject
  4. lean — thin
  5. mug — to rob
  6. rash — hasty
  7. swing — music
  8. field — farmland
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bass — low music
  11. mug — a face
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. dip — to sink
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. swing — to play on
  19. lean — to bend
  20. swing — in golf
  21. rash — a series
  22. mug — a cup
  23. bass — the fish
  24. field — for sport

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