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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. swing — to play on
  3. march — music
  4. tear — to rip
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bulb — for light
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. mark — a grade
  11. degree — temperature
  12. mark — a trace
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. row — to paddle
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bulb — for light
  18. swing — music
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. row — a line
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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