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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. present — there
  3. swing — music
  4. roll — a list
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. present — a gift
  10. last — to go on
  11. present — the time now
  12. swing — in golf
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. swing — to play on
  17. march — music
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. sharp — clever
  24. roll — a cake

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