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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bass · wind · bat · spell · stand · ground · march

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. stand — to bear
  4. march — the month
  5. wind — moving air
  6. march — the month
  7. bass — low music
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bat — the animal
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — a position
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — music
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — the fish
  20. swing — in golf
  21. march — music
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. wind — moving air
  24. spell — magic

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