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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. swing — to play on
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. field — for sport
  6. can — to be able to
  7. row — to paddle
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. kick — in football
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cap — of ice
  12. field — farmland
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. swing — music
  15. march — the month
  16. can — a tin
  17. field — a subject
  18. bat — the animal
  19. can — a tin
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cap — a lid
  24. row — a quarrel

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