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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. drill — army training
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. swing — music
  5. track — a path
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. march — music
  8. swing — to play on
  9. track — a song
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. kick — in football
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bear — the animal
  15. drill — a practice
  16. march — the month
  17. bear — the animal
  18. drill — the tool
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. track — to keep track
  21. march — the month
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — the fish
  24. swing — in golf

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