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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. file — a document
  6. swing — to play on
  7. season — of the year
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. fork — in a road
  10. march — the month
  11. file — a line of people
  12. march — the month
  13. hand — in cards
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. hand — help
  17. swing — music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. file — a tool
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. swing — in golf
  24. march — 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