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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. march — the month
  5. wound — an injury
  6. march — music
  7. roll — a cake
  8. cue — a signal
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. wound — an injury
  11. swing — in golf
  12. roll — a list
  13. row — to paddle
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. current — of water
  16. march — the month
  17. swing — to play on
  18. current — electric
  19. current — happening now
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. row — a line
  23. cue — for pool
  24. cue — a hint

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