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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. chip — for betting
  5. swing — in golf
  6. march — the month
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. drill — the tool
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. last — finally
  11. march — music
  12. swing — music
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. drill — a practice
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — a trail
  17. chip — to eat
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. last — final
  21. march — the month
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. last — to go on
  24. drill — army training

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