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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 120 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. bass — low music
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. fall — the season
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. spell — letters
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. fall — to drop
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. spell — a short time
  12. land — a country
  13. swing — to play on
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. land — ground
  16. swing — in golf
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. fall — to drop
  19. land — to come down
  20. spell — magic
  21. bass — the fish
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — shares
  24. straw — dry grass

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