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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. game — wild animals
  4. swing — music
  5. cap — of ice
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bass — the fish
  10. game — a match
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bass — low music
  13. shower — rain
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — a lid
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. swing — to play on
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — soda
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pop — music
  24. field — for sport

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