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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. swing — to play on
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. row — a line
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. row — to paddle
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bound — tied together
  16. swing — in golf
  17. stand — to bear
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. bark — to shout
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bound — obliged
  23. swing — music
  24. bound — certain

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