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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. swing — to play on
  3. prune — to trim
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. swing — in golf
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bat — the animal
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. swing — music
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. wound — an injury
  16. capital — a city
  17. stock — goods
  18. bass — low music
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stock — shares
  22. capital — money
  23. bass — the fish
  24. prune — to trim

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