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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. track — to keep track
  3. season — of the year
  4. row — to paddle
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. row — a line
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. track — a path
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. season — in sport
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. swing — in golf
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. swing — to play on
  17. track — a song
  18. lean — thin
  19. lean — to bend
  20. wound — an injury
  21. file — a tool
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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