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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. board — to get on
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. board — a committee
  5. file — a document
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. bear — the animal
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. swing — music
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. wound — an injury
  13. swing — in golf
  14. file — a line of people
  15. march — music
  16. roll — a list
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bear — the animal
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a cake
  22. file — a tool
  23. swing — to play on
  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