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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. field — for sport
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. kid — to tease
  6. last — final
  7. swing — music
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. last — to go on
  10. perch — the fish
  11. field — a subject
  12. pit — a hole
  13. last — finally
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. kid — child
  20. band — a music group
  21. field — farmland
  22. pit — in a race
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. swing — to play on

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