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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  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. spring — a coil
  2. march — music
  3. track — a song
  4. track — a path
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. present — the time now
  7. pit — a hole
  8. track — to keep track
  9. court — of a king
  10. swing — in golf
  11. court — of law
  12. swing — to play on
  13. pit — in a race
  14. spring — the season
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. court — for sport
  18. present — a gift
  19. sharp — clever
  20. present — there
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. spring — of water
  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