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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 120 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cell — in biology
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — for a lock
  7. chip — to eat
  8. hand — in cards
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. hand — help
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cell — a phone
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. wake — a trail
  16. key — in music
  17. chip — for betting
  18. ball — a great time
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. ball — a round shape

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