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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. current — happening now
  3. fine — high quality
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. scale — size or range
  6. rash — a series
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. swing — in golf
  11. rash — hasty
  12. current — electric
  13. cap — a lid
  14. fine — all right
  15. tear — from crying
  16. current — of water
  17. bark — to shout
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a hat
  20. scale — in music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. tear — from crying
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. tear — to rip

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