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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: pit · wave · file · swing · chest · cold · cue · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. swing — music
  3. row — to paddle
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. swing — to play on
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. chest — a box
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cue — a signal
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a hole
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cue — a hint
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. file — a tool
  18. swing — in golf
  19. row — a line
  20. cold — an illness
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. file — a document

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