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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. present — the time now
  3. present — there
  4. swing — in golf
  5. spell — letters
  6. field — a subject
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. present — a gift
  9. suit — clothes
  10. suit — in cards
  11. row — a line
  12. spell — a short time
  13. mine — for digging
  14. suit — to fit
  15. field — for sport
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — music
  18. row — to paddle
  19. field — farmland
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. spell — magic

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