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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. mine — for digging
  4. swing — music
  5. rush — hurry
  6. present — there
  7. present — the time now
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. present — a gift
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. wake — a trail
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. field — a subject
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. game — wild animals
  21. swing — in golf
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. game — a match
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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