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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. swing — in golf
  3. shower — to wash
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — the underground
  8. swing — to play on
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. can — a tin
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. shower — rain
  16. stem — to come from
  17. tube — a container
  18. march — music
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. can — a tin
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. swing — music

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