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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. swing — to play on
  6. pop — music
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. march — music
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pop — soda
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. swing — music
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. swing — in golf
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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