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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 116 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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — of water
  4. cold — not warm
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. craft — boats
  7. cold — an illness
  8. march — the month
  9. swing — to play on
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. shower — rain
  13. march — the month
  14. current — electric
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — of water
  17. shower — to wash
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. craft — a skill
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. march — music
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. swing — music
  24. spring — the season

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