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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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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: mate · row · saw · can · march · swing · key · kid

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. saw — the tool
  3. kid — to tease
  4. can — a tin
  5. row — a line
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. march — the month
  9. mate — a partner
  10. key — the most important part
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. row — to paddle
  13. can — a tin
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — in music
  16. march — the month
  17. mate — a friend
  18. saw — the tool
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — in golf
  21. mate — to breed
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. swing — music
  24. march — music

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