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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. swing — music
  3. present — the time now
  4. root — the cause
  5. last — finally
  6. swing — in golf
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — final
  10. season — in sport
  11. root — of a word
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. swing — to play on
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. root — of a plant
  16. present — a gift
  17. wound — an injury
  18. season — of the year
  19. drill — army training
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wound — an injury
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. present — there

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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