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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. file — a line of people
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. season — in sport
  5. file — a document
  6. season — of the year
  7. fall — the season
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. track — a path
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. track — to keep track
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rash — a series
  14. roll — a list
  15. swing — music
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. rash — hasty
  18. fall — to drop
  19. roll — a cake
  20. file — a tool
  21. swing — in golf
  22. track — a song
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. rash — on the skin

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