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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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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 · march · straw · last · jam · bass · saw · shower

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. swing — music
  3. last — finally
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. march — the month
  7. shower — rain
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — low music
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. swing — in golf
  17. shower — to wash
  18. march — music
  19. swing — to play on
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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