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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 120 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — a stone
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — music
  8. content — happy
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. mug — a cup
  11. march — the month
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. swing — to play on
  15. march — music
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mug — to rob
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — a series
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. content — the amount
  22. march — the month
  23. foot — a measure
  24. pitcher — a jug

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