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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. swing — in golf
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. content — the amount
  5. saw — the tool
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. swing — to play on
  8. fine — high quality
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. game — a match
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. content — happy
  14. bat — the animal
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. fine — all right
  18. march — the month
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. swing — music
  24. saw — the tool

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