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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spring — the season
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. row — to paddle
  7. spell — letters
  8. row — a line
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spell — magic
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. present — a gift
  13. swing — in golf
  14. present — there
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. swing — music
  17. present — the time now
  18. swing — to play on
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. coach — a trainer

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