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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. charge — in control
  3. march — the month
  4. chest — a box
  5. swing — in golf
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. march — the month
  8. spring — of water
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bank — of a river
  11. spring — a coil
  12. charge — electricity
  13. spring — the season
  14. chest — of your body
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bank — for money
  17. march — music
  18. bank — for money
  19. date — the fruit
  20. shower — rain
  21. charge — a price
  22. shower — to wash
  23. swing — music
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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