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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. land — to come down
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. ground — a position
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. swing — in golf
  7. ground — crushed
  8. swing — to play on
  9. ground — the earth
  10. tear — from crying
  11. march — the month
  12. land — ground
  13. spell — magic
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. bulb — for light
  16. spell — a short time
  17. land — a country
  18. spell — letters
  19. march — music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. march — the month
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bulb — for light

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