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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: swing · bass · face · mate · dip · club · kick · cell

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. mate — a partner
  3. cell — a phone
  4. swing — music
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. swing — to play on
  7. mate — a friend
  8. face — to confront
  9. mate — to breed
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. bass — low music
  13. cell — in biology
  14. dip — to sink
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. face — part of the head
  20. club — a group
  21. bass — the fish
  22. swing — in golf
  23. club — for dancing
  24. face — to point toward

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