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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 124 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. current — electric
  5. rush — hurry
  6. court — for sport
  7. swing — in golf
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. board — to get on
  10. board — a committee
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bass — the fish
  13. swing — to play on
  14. current — happening now
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. bass — low music
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. court — of a king
  20. current — of water
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. court — of law
  23. branch — a division
  24. cold — an illness

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