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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. file — a tool
  3. kick — in football
  4. swing — music
  5. land — ground
  6. chair — a leader
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. pitch — completely
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. file — a document
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — in golf
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — with a leg

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