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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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Word bank
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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: bear · arm · straw · swing · row · mark · game · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. game — a match
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. mark — a trace
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. swing — music
  9. bear — the animal
  10. swing — to play on
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. bass — low music
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. row — to paddle
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bear — the animal
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. swing — in golf
  20. bass — the fish
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. game — wild animals
  24. row — a line

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