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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. swing — in golf
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bank — of a river
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. bank — for money
  8. cell — in biology
  9. swing — music
  10. dip — to sink
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bank — for money
  13. bass — the fish
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bass — low music
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. file — a tool
  19. rash — a series
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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