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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. band — a ring
  3. file — a line of people
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. suit — in cards
  8. hand — help
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. suit — clothes
  11. hand — in cards
  12. suit — to fit
  13. file — a tool
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. pop — soda
  16. swing — music
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. swing — in golf
  19. file — a document
  20. bat — the animal
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. band — a music group
  24. pop — music

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