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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. swing — music
  3. march — the month
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. drill — a practice
  6. swing — to play on
  7. rock — music
  8. mine — for digging
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — in a race
  12. rock — a stone
  13. swing — in golf
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. drill — the tool
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. present — the time now
  18. drill — army training
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. present — there
  21. march — the month
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. present — a gift
  24. straw — dry grass

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