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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. fork — in a road
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. swing — music
  11. rock — a stone
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. press — to push
  14. march — the month
  15. roll — a list
  16. swing — to play on
  17. march — music
  18. wound — an injury
  19. press — a publisher
  20. march — the month
  21. rock — music
  22. press — newspapers
  23. wound — an injury
  24. swing — in golf

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