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

Word bank: fork · rest · swing · present · racket · cold · leaves · march

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. cold — not warm
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. cold — an illness
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. rest — what's left
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. swing — music
  12. march — the month
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. present — a gift
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. present — the time now
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. swing — in golf
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. swing — to play on
  21. march — the month
  22. fork — in a road
  23. march — music
  24. leaves — lets stay

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