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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. swing — music
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. hand — in cards
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. spring — of water
  8. rush — hurry
  9. spring — the season
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. tube — the underground
  16. swing — in golf
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. swing — to play on
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. tube — a container
  23. hand — help
  24. spring — a coil

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