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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. club — for dancing
  4. lean — thin
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. lean — to bend
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. rest — what's left
  9. last — final
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pitch — completely
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. last — finally
  15. last — to go on
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rest — a break
  18. club — a group
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. club — for golf
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. wind — moving air

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