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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
468
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: track · wound · squash · sharp · march · swing · fine · mine

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. swing — to play on
  5. track — a path
  6. mine — for digging
  7. fine — all right
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wound — an injury
  10. march — music
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. wound — an injury
  14. swing — in golf
  15. track — to keep track
  16. swing — music
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. track — a song
  20. march — the month
  21. squash — the sport
  22. march — the month
  23. fine — high quality
  24. mine — belonging to me

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