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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. craft — boats
  3. march — the month
  4. craft — a skill
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. club — for golf
  9. field — for sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. march — the month
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — to play on
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. rest — what's left
  17. club — a group
  18. field — farmland
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. swing — music
  21. field — a subject
  22. tear — to rip
  23. fork — in a road
  24. club — for dancing

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