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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.

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: cold · content · lean · bat · bass · club · swing · pop

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. swing — music
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. club — for golf
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — to play on
  7. lean — thin
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. content — happy
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. lean — to bend
  14. content — the amount
  15. pop — music
  16. cold — an illness
  17. club — a group
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pop — to visit
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pop — soda
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the fish
  24. lean — to rest against

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