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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. march — the month
  3. last — to go on
  4. swing — music
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. march — music
  9. last — finally
  10. fall — to drop
  11. club — for dancing
  12. fall — the season
  13. club — a group
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. fall — to drop
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. club — for golf
  18. swing — in golf
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — boats
  21. content — happy
  22. content — the amount
  23. march — the month
  24. swing — to play on

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