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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 116 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. wake — a trail
  3. march — the month
  4. sharp — clever
  5. field — farmland
  6. rush — hurry
  7. field — for sport
  8. swing — music
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — boats
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. craft — a skill
  13. field — a subject
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. swing — in golf
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. present — a gift
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. rush — to hurry

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