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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. net — for catching
  4. lean — thin
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. spring — of water
  7. swing — to play on
  8. net — after costs
  9. current — of water
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. current — electric
  14. net — in sport
  15. lean — to bend
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. current — happening now
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. bat — the animal
  22. swing — in golf
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — the season

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