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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — to play on
  4. present — a gift
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. spell — letters
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. last — final
  9. spell — magic
  10. spring — of water
  11. last — finally
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. last — to go on
  15. track — a song
  16. present — there
  17. spell — a short time
  18. swing — music
  19. spring — a coil
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. track — to keep track
  22. spring — the season
  23. track — a path
  24. present — the time now

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