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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. stock — goods
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. march — music
  5. squash — to crush
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. march — the month
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. court — for sport
  11. bass — the fish
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bass — low music
  14. swing — in golf
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stock — shares
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. court — of a king
  19. snap — to click
  20. court — of law
  21. squash — the sport
  22. march — the month
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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