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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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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: field · swing · dip · fork · rest · march · snap · drill

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. march — the month
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — music
  7. drill — army training
  8. march — music
  9. snap — to click
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. drill — the tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. rest — a break
  14. field — for sport
  15. rest — what's left
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. field — a subject
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. march — the month
  22. swing — to play on
  23. rest — what's left
  24. dip — to sink

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