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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: present · rash · swing · hand · prune · squash · bass · staff

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. prune — to trim
  3. present — there
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. swing — music
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. squash — the sport
  9. staff — employees
  10. bass — the fish
  11. present — the time now
  12. swing — to play on
  13. staff — a stick
  14. staff — employees
  15. prune — to trim
  16. hand — help
  17. rash — hasty
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. swing — in golf
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. present — a gift
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rash — a series
  24. squash — to crush

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