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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: cold · mate · saw · hide · swing · stick · bass · rest

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. swing — in golf
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bass — the fish
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. mate — a friend
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cold — not warm
  16. swing — to play on
  17. rest — a break
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bass — low music
  20. mate — to breed
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. swing — music

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