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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spell — magic
  3. can — a tin
  4. hand — help
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a grade
  7. can — to be able to
  8. swing — in golf
  9. can — a tin
  10. swing — music
  11. bound — tied together
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. spell — a short time
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bound — obliged
  16. march — the month
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bound — certain
  20. mark — a trace
  21. swing — to play on
  22. march — music
  23. spell — letters
  24. cold — an illness

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