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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. scale — in music
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. row — a line
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. net — for catching
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. swing — in golf
  13. row — to paddle
  14. net — in sport
  15. scale — size or range
  16. net — after costs
  17. saw — the tool
  18. last — to go on
  19. hand — help
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. last — final
  22. swing — to play on
  23. last — finally
  24. saw — the tool

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