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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: wound · jam · swing · fan · sharp · lie · bass · fall

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. wound — an injury
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — in golf
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fall — to drop
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bass — low music
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. bass — the fish
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. fall — the season
  21. wound — an injury
  22. swing — music
  23. lie — to recline
  24. fall — to drop

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