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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  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. row — a line
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — music
  9. tear — to rip
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. last — to go on
  14. row — to paddle
  15. staff — employees
  16. tear — from crying
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. last — final
  19. tear — from crying
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. last — finally
  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