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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. last — final
  3. chest — of your body
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. degree — from a university
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. degree — temperature
  9. last — finally
  10. bass — the fish
  11. content — happy
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bass — low music
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. last — to go on
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. chest — a box

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