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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 120 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wind — moving air
  4. swing — in golf
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. charge — electricity
  7. cold — not warm
  8. file — a line of people
  9. pound — a weight
  10. wind — moving air
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. file — a document
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. swing — music
  16. charge — in control
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. file — a tool
  20. charge — a price
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. swing — to play on
  24. pound — for dogs

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