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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 116 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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — to tease
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. field — farmland
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. last — final
  12. last — finally
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. field — a subject
  15. rock — music
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. swing — to play on
  19. field — for sport
  20. swing — music
  21. last — to go on
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. rock — a stone
  24. trunk — of a tree

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