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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. club — for golf
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. squash — to crush
  5. hand — help
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. squash — the sport
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. hand — in cards
  10. clip — a video
  11. stand — to bear
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. clip — for paper
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. club — a group
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — in football
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. ball — a dance
  24. club — for dancing

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