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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. net — for catching
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. roll — a list
  5. rule — a law
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. swing — music
  9. rule — government
  10. hand — in cards
  11. march — the month
  12. swing — in golf
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. ground — the earth
  16. swing — to play on
  17. date — the fruit
  18. march — the month
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. net — in sport
  21. roll — a cake
  22. net — after costs
  23. ground — crushed
  24. march — music

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