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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 116 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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bass — the fish
  6. cell — a phone
  7. fork — in a road
  8. cell — in biology
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stand — to bear
  13. game — a match
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. swing — music
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. swing — in golf
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. game — wild animals
  24. swing — to play on

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