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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: deal · swing · date · foot · row · lean · cold · bat

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. swing — in golf
  5. lean — to bend
  6. cold — an illness
  7. lean — thin
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. foot — a measure
  14. row — a line
  15. bat — the animal
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. row — to paddle
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. swing — to play on
  22. deal — to handle
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. date — the fruit

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