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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  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. march — the month
  2. rash — a series
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — music
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. fine — high quality
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. fine — all right
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. swing — to play on
  13. rash — hasty
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wound — an injury
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wound — an injury
  21. swing — music
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  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