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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. march — music
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fine — all right
  7. swing — in golf
  8. roll — a cake
  9. swing — music
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. swing — to play on
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. march — the month
  15. toast — bread
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. roll — a list
  21. march — the month
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bat — the animal

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