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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mate · file · chest · tear · bass · swing

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. mate — to breed
  3. chest — of your body
  4. tear — from crying
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bass — low music
  7. file — a document
  8. chest — a box
  9. file — a line of people
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. swing — in golf
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — a friend
  18. swing — music

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