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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 120 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. scale — size or range
  3. bass — low music
  4. scale — in music
  5. swing — music
  6. stem — to come from
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. swing — in golf
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. net — for catching
  12. bass — the fish
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — in sport
  15. wound — an injury
  16. swing — to play on
  17. court — for sport
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to bend
  21. wound — an injury
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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