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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 116 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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. wake — a trail
  3. drill — the tool
  4. swing — music
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. drill — a practice
  8. stock — goods
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. fork — in a road
  13. rash — a series
  14. game — wild animals
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rash — hasty
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — in golf

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