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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. swing — music
  3. bear — the animal
  4. land — ground
  5. file — a line of people
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a tool
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bass — low music
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. swing — to play on
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. swing — in golf

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