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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. swing — music
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. lean — thin
  10. shower — to wash
  11. race — humankind
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. lean — to bend
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pitch — completely
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bark — to shout
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bass — low music
  20. race — a contest
  21. swing — in golf
  22. race — the arms race
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. shower — rain

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