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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. bass — low music
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cold — not warm
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fall — to drop
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. lie — to recline
  15. fall — the season
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bass — the fish
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. swing — in golf
  23. sharp — clever
  24. lie — an untruth

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