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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. tear — from crying
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. swing — to play on
  7. march — the month
  8. tear — to rip
  9. ball — a great time
  10. march — music
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. current — electric
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. tear — from crying
  15. swing — in golf
  16. march — the month
  17. ball — a dance
  18. swing — music
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. current — happening now
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. arm — part of the body

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