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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: sharp · swing · fork · game · march · date · clip · bay

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. swing — music
  3. march — music
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. game — wild animals
  10. swing — to play on
  11. game — a match
  12. fork — in a road
  13. clip — to cut
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. swing — in golf
  19. march — the month
  20. sharp — clever
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. date — on the calendar
  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