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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. march — the month
  5. swing — in golf
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. march — the month
  8. face — to confront
  9. content — the amount
  10. drill — a practice
  11. content — happy
  12. mine — for digging
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — music
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. face — part of the head
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. march — music
  23. bark — to shout
  24. face — to point toward

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