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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. mark — a grade
  3. last — to go on
  4. pit — in a race
  5. pit — a hole
  6. swing — in golf
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. swing — music
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cap — a lid
  14. march — music
  15. last — final
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. march — the month
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. march — the month
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. last — finally

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