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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: cabinet · wound · row · kick · deal · bass · branch · swing

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. swing — to play on
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bass — the fish
  7. row — a line
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. swing — music
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bass — low music
  12. row — to paddle
  13. kick — in football
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. branch — a division
  22. wound — an injury
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. cabinet — ministers

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