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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. swing — in golf
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. mark — a trace
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. mark — a grade
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. land — to come down
  9. wound — an injury
  10. march — the month
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. degree — temperature
  14. swing — music
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. stand — to bear
  17. degree — an amount
  18. land — a country
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. swing — to play on
  21. march — the month
  22. degree — from a university
  23. land — ground
  24. coach — a trainer

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