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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: row · scale · cold · pass · swing · tear

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. 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. swing — music
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pass — a permit
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. swing — to play on
  7. tear — to rip
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. row — a line
  10. scale — in music
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. scale — size or range
  17. row — to paddle
  18. 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