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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. cold — an illness
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. swing — to play on
  8. branch — a division
  9. perch — the fish
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. stand — to bear
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. cold — not warm
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. swing — music
  16. season — of the year
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — to handle
  24. season — in 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