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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. drill — a practice
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. march — music
  7. pit — in a race
  8. wind — moving air
  9. swing — music
  10. drill — the tool
  11. drill — army training
  12. wake — a trail
  13. sharp — clever
  14. pit — a hole
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. fine — high quality
  17. swing — to play on
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. march — the month
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. swing — in golf
  23. fine — all right
  24. march — the month

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