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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. last — final
  3. scale — in music
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. bulb — for light
  9. present — there
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — a division
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bulb — for light
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. last — to go on
  16. present — a gift
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. pitch — completely
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. last — finally
  21. swing — to play on
  22. scale — size or range
  23. present — the time now
  24. swing — music

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