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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. field — farmland
  3. pop — to visit
  4. swing — in golf
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. field — a subject
  7. shower — rain
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. chest — a box
  10. court — of law
  11. march — music
  12. court — for sport
  13. shower — to wash
  14. swing — to play on
  15. court — of a king
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. swing — music
  18. pop — soda
  19. field — for sport
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. march — the month
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pop — 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