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

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. scale — in music
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. chest — a box
  7. prune — to trim
  8. swing — to play on
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. swing — music
  12. band — a music group
  13. chest — of your body
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. prune — to trim
  16. swing — in golf
  17. scale — size or range
  18. chest — of your body

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