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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. net — for catching
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. swing — to play on
  7. staff — a stick
  8. swing — music
  9. mine — for digging
  10. kid — child
  11. lean — to bend
  12. kid — to tease
  13. swing — in golf
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. branch — a division
  16. staff — employees
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. lean — thin
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. net — after costs
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. net — in sport
  24. staff — employees

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