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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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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: saw · bass · chair · snap · fall · ball · swing · shower

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. snap — to click
  3. bass — the fish
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. swing — in golf
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bass — low music
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. fall — to drop
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. shower — to wash
  18. fall — the season
  19. ball — a great time
  20. shower — rain
  21. fall — to drop
  22. chair — a leader
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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