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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bat · row · swing · toast · wound · march · ruler · fan

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wound — an injury
  5. swing — to play on
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. march — the month
  9. bat — the animal
  10. swing — music
  11. toast — bread
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wound — an injury
  14. march — music
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. row — a line
  22. march — the month
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — a supporter

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