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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 116 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: bass · lean · bowl · trunk · sharp · march · swing · land

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. march — the month
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bass — low music
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. sharp — clever
  10. land — to come down
  11. march — the month
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. swing — in golf
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. lean — to bend
  23. march — music
  24. trunk — of a car

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