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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. present — there
  3. pop — to visit
  4. swing — to play on
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bass — low music
  7. last — finally
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. swing — music
  10. cell — a phone
  11. present — the time now
  12. board — a committee
  13. bass — the fish
  14. present — a gift
  15. swing — in golf
  16. pop — music
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. last — to go on
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. pop — soda
  23. cell — in biology
  24. row — a line

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