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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. suit — to fit
  3. swing — music
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. swing — to play on
  6. rest — what's left
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. chest — of your body
  9. suit — in cards
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rest — what's left
  12. march — the month
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bore — to drill
  16. rest — a break
  17. march — the month
  18. cold — an illness
  19. swing — in golf
  20. chest — a box
  21. bore — to tire
  22. cold — not warm
  23. suit — clothes
  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