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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. game — wild animals
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. ground — the earth
  8. tube — a container
  9. game — a match
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. march — the month
  12. tube — the underground
  13. march — music
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. ground — crushed
  19. march — the month
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. ground — a position
  22. swing — in golf
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. swing — music

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