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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. swing — to play on
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. dip — to sink
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. swing — music
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. chest — of your body
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. roll — a list
  14. cell — a phone
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. swing — in golf
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. roll — a cake
  22. cell — in biology
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. cell — in a prison

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