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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 · rule · hand · kid · bass · rock · wound · bat

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. rock — a stone
  3. wound — an injury
  4. swing — music
  5. bat — the animal
  6. swing — in golf
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rock — music
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bass — the fish
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wound — an injury
  16. swing — to play on
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — in cards
  19. rule — government
  20. kid — child
  21. rule — a law
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. bass — low music

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