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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. swing — music
  3. march — the month
  4. swing — to play on
  5. saw — the tool
  6. spell — a short time
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. saw — the tool
  9. game — a match
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. object — an aim
  13. spell — letters
  14. game — wild animals
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. pitch — completely
  18. march — music
  19. swing — in golf
  20. object — a thing
  21. march — the month
  22. spell — magic
  23. race — humankind
  24. pitch — a sports field

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