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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. net — after costs
  4. club — for dancing
  5. bass — the fish
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. club — for golf
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. swing — music
  12. net — in sport
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — to play on
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. club — a group
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. net — for catching

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