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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cold · row · bass · leaves · scale · stick · bat · swing

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. swing — to play on
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — a line
  5. row — to paddle
  6. cold — an illness
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. swing — music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bass — low music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. swing — in golf
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. cold — not warm
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — in music
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. bat — the animal

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