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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bank — of a river
  4. last — finally
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. last — to go on
  7. swing — to play on
  8. last — final
  9. swing — in golf
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bank — for money
  12. hand — help
  13. bank — for money
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. scale — size or range
  16. shower — rain
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. deal — to handle
  24. scale — in music

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