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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. kid — child
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. degree — an amount
  5. swing — music
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mug — a face
  8. kid — to tease
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. mug — a cup
  13. march — the month
  14. swing — in golf
  15. field — for sport
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. field — a subject
  18. degree — from a university
  19. field — farmland
  20. march — music
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. march — the month
  23. stand — to bear
  24. degree — temperature

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