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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: swing · bay · chest · fall · sharp · scale · bark · row

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. scale — size or range
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. bark — to shout
  9. fall — to drop
  10. sharp — clever
  11. scale — in music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. swing — music
  14. chest — a box
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. row — to paddle
  17. chest — of your body
  18. swing — in golf
  19. fall — the season
  20. row — a line
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. row — a quarrel

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