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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. current — electric
  4. field — farmland
  5. chest — of your body
  6. swing — to play on
  7. hand — help
  8. chest — a box
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. swing — in golf
  12. field — for sport
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. field — a subject
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. season — in sport
  18. bass — the fish
  19. swing — music
  20. current — of water
  21. season — of the year
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. current — happening now

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