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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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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. swing — in golf
  3. fine — all right
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. foot — a measure
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. swing — to play on
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. bark — to shout
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. march — the month
  18. swing — 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