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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: file · swing · march · sharp · track · pop · jam · deal

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. track — to keep track
  8. sharp — clever
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. swing — in golf
  11. track — a path
  12. deal — to handle
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — soda
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. file — a line of people
  17. swing — to play on
  18. march — music
  19. track — a song
  20. swing — music
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. pop — music
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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