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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. fine — high quality
  3. mug — a cup
  4. bark — to shout
  5. fine — all right
  6. wound — an injury
  7. field — farmland
  8. swing — in golf
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. swing — to play on
  11. field — a subject
  12. mug — to rob
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mug — a face
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. field — for sport

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