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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 · dip · fork · saw · bass · tube · game · plane

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bass — the fish
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. tube — a container
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. tube — the underground
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — in a road
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bass — low music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. saw — the tool
  15. swing — in golf
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. saw — the tool
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. plane — a tool
  20. dip — to sink
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. game — a match
  23. swing — music
  24. game — wild animals

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