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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. saw — the tool
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wind — moving air
  6. court — of a king
  7. bass — low music
  8. court — of law
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. court — for sport
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wound — an injury
  17. tear — from crying
  18. swing — music
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. swing — in golf
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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