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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. shower — to wash
  5. swing — in golf
  6. pass — a permit
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. scale — size or range
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. rash — a series
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. scale — in music
  15. rash — hasty
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. game — a match
  18. cold — not warm
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cold — an illness
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. leaves — lets stay

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