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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bound — certain
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. drill — a practice
  10. bound — obliged
  11. shower — to wash
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bound — tied together
  15. game — wild animals
  16. swing — music
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cap — a lid
  19. swing — to play on
  20. shower — rain
  21. cap — of ice
  22. game — a match
  23. swing — in golf
  24. cap — a hat

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