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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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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: cabinet · content · pitcher · swing · rash · row · cue · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. content — happy
  3. row — to paddle
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. bass — the fish
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — hasty
  8. cue — for pool
  9. rash — a series
  10. bass — low music
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. swing — to play on
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. row — a line
  18. cue — a signal
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cue — a hint
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — music
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. content — the amount

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