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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. chest — of your body
  5. swing — music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. chest — a box
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. spring — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pass — a permit
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. fall — to drop
  20. swing — to play on
  21. spring — of water
  22. fall — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  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