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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. swing — to play on
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. scale — size or range
  7. root — the cause
  8. spell — a short time
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bore — to drill
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. root — of a plant
  15. swing — music
  16. root — of a word
  17. spell — letters
  18. bore — to tire
  19. spell — magic
  20. fork — in a road
  21. march — music
  22. chest — of your body
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bore — gave birth

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