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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. swing — to play on
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. rash — hasty
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. rash — a series
  9. stand — to bear
  10. scale — size or range
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. scale — in music
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bass — the fish
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bass — the instrument

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