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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. march — music
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. pitch — completely
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fork — in a road
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. rash — hasty
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — a cake
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. rash — a series
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. date — the fruit

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