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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — in golf
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. drill — a practice
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. swing — to play on
  9. row — to paddle
  10. march — music
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. drill — the tool
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. drill — army training
  16. row — a line
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. capital — a city
  20. kick — in football
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. march — the month
  23. capital — money
  24. march — the month

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