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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 120 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: mouse · mark · bat · land · swing · dip · spell · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. spell — magic
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. spell — letters
  5. land — ground
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. spell — a short time
  12. dip — to sink
  13. swing — in golf
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. swing — music
  18. mark — a trace
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. bat — the animal
  21. swing — to play on
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bat — for baseball

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