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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. swing — in golf
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — in football
  10. track — a path
  11. march — the month
  12. swing — to play on
  13. cold — not warm
  14. track — a song
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. swing — music
  18. march — music
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. track — to keep track
  22. fork — in a road
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mouse — for a computer

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