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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. march — the month
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — to play on
  5. field — a subject
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — to visit
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. field — for sport
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. march — the month
  13. swing — in golf
  14. pop — soda
  15. net — after costs
  16. field — farmland
  17. deal — to handle
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a hole
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — for catching
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. rock — a stone
  24. march — 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