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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. plane — a tool
  3. bat — the animal
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a document
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. game — wild animals
  11. swing — in golf
  12. cue — a hint
  13. dip — to sink
  14. file — a tool
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. game — a match
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cue — a signal
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. cue — for pool
  22. swing — to play on
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. game — a kind of play

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