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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. march — the month
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. swing — music
  6. march — music
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. swing — to play on
  10. row — a line
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — to come from
  13. foot — a measure
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. dip — to sink
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. stock — goods
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. swing — in golf
  21. stock — shares
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bat — the animal

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