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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. swing — in golf
  3. present — a gift
  4. ball — a dance
  5. scale — size or range
  6. swing — to play on
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — hurry
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. present — the time now
  11. swing — music
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. tear — to rip
  17. rock — music
  18. present — there
  19. bat — the animal
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. tear — from crying
  22. scale — in music
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rock — a stone

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