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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 120 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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — music
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. field — a subject
  6. rash — a series
  7. ground — crushed
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. field — for sport
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. rest — a break
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. field — farmland
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. wax — to grow
  22. march — the month
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. ground — a position

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