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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. content — the amount
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. squash — to crush
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. content — happy
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wake — a trail
  10. rash — a series
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. tear — from crying
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. squash — the sport
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rash — hasty
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. tear — to rip
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. tear — from crying
  24. swing — music

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