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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. drill — a practice
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. field — for sport
  5. game — a match
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. field — a subject
  8. tear — from crying
  9. drill — army training
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. present — there
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. present — the time now
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. drill — the tool
  19. present — a gift
  20. swing — in golf
  21. tear — to rip
  22. swing — to play on
  23. field — farmland
  24. game — wild animals

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