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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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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: foot · rash · hide · pitch · cold · swing · march · bass

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. bass — low music
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. march — the month
  7. cold — an illness
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. march — music
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. bass — the fish
  12. cold — not warm
  13. swing — in golf
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. march — the month
  16. foot — a measure
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — hasty
  24. hide — animal skin

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