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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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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: bass · leaves · swing · content · race · bowl · jam · straw

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. swing — in golf
  3. bass — the fish
  4. swing — to play on
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. bass — low music
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. race — a contest
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. race — the arms race
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. swing — music
  21. content — the amount
  22. race — humankind
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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