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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 120 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: chest · bass · leaves · track · swing · bulb · foot · season

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — a song
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bass — the fish
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. chest — of your body
  7. swing — in golf
  8. foot — a measure
  9. season — of the year
  10. chest — a box
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. season — in sport
  14. bulb — for light
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. track — to keep track
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. swing — music
  23. bass — low music
  24. chest — of your body

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