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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. rash — a series
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. pass — a permit
  8. chair — a leader
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. file — a tool
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. rash — hasty
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. swing — music
  20. file — a line of people
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. file — a document
  24. swing — in golf

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