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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. last — to go on
  3. swing — to play on
  4. last — finally
  5. pop — to visit
  6. last — final
  7. object — to protest
  8. swing — music
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. present — the time now
  11. object — an aim
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. pop — music
  14. present — there
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. pop — soda
  19. present — a gift
  20. mine — for digging
  21. march — the month
  22. object — a thing
  23. swing — in golf
  24. mine — an explosive

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