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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 120 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: swing · tube · foot · lean · hide · bass · cell · march

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. march — the month
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. lean — thin
  5. march — music
  6. tube — the underground
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — low music
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cell — in biology
  12. swing — to play on
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — a container
  17. swing — music
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. lean — to bend
  21. foot — a measure
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. march — the month
  24. cell — a phone

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