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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. swing — to play on
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. track — a song
  5. fall — to drop
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. fall — the season
  8. scale — in music
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. swing — in golf
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. kid — child
  15. content — the amount
  16. track — a path
  17. kid — to tease
  18. scale — size or range
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. fall — to drop
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. content — happy
  23. track — to keep track
  24. trunk — of a tree

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