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

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. swing — in golf
  3. chair — a leader
  4. net — for catching
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rush — hurry
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cell — in biology
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. swing — to play on
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. net — after costs
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. net — in sport
  24. swing — 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