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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. swing — to play on
  3. lean — to bend
  4. swing — music
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. mark — a grade
  7. rule — a law
  8. bass — the fish
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. bass — low music
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cell — a phone
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. pit — a hole
  18. rule — government
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — for digging
  21. swing — in golf
  22. cell — in biology
  23. pit — in a race
  24. cell — in a prison

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