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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. mate — a friend
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bass — low music
  7. swing — in golf
  8. mate — to breed
  9. swing — music
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cell — in biology
  12. mate — a partner
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. pitch — completely
  21. swing — to play on
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. bass — the fish

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