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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. march — the month
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. file — a line of people
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. snap — to click
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. swing — in golf
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. swing — music
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. mine — for digging
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. file — a tool
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. file — a document
  24. leaves — lets stay

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