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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. board — to get on
  5. mine — for digging
  6. board — a committee
  7. swing — music
  8. fine — all right
  9. saw — the tool
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. spell — a short time
  13. saw — the tool
  14. swing — in golf
  15. last — finally
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. fine — high quality
  19. last — final
  20. spell — magic
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. spell — letters
  23. last — to go on
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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