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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. mate — a partner
  3. swing — to play on
  4. march — the month
  5. spring — the season
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. mate — to breed
  8. present — there
  9. spring — of water
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. march — music
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bat — the animal
  14. last — finally
  15. swing — music
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. last — to go on
  18. mate — a friend
  19. march — the month
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. present — a gift
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. present — the time now
  24. last — final

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