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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. can — a tin
  4. cold — an illness
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. rock — music
  7. present — a gift
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. club — for dancing
  11. can — to be able to
  12. can — a tin
  13. club — for golf
  14. present — the time now
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. present — there
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. cell — a phone
  19. club — a group
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cell — in biology
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. cold — not warm
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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