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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a committee
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. ground — crushed
  7. lie — to recline
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — to play on
  10. snap — to click
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. ground — the earth
  14. lean — to bend
  15. ground — a position
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. swing — music
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lean — thin
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bat — for baseball

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