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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: row · stock · bass · swing · saw · fall · fine · mine

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. saw — the tool
  3. mine — for digging
  4. swing — music
  5. fall — to drop
  6. stock — goods
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bass — low music
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. fine — all right
  12. fall — the season
  13. bass — the fish
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fine — high quality
  16. row — to paddle
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. saw — the tool
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. row — a line
  22. swing — to play on
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. row — a quarrel

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