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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. can — a tin
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. can — to be able to
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. swing — to play on
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. can — a tin
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — clever
  19. mine — for digging
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. march — the month
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — in golf

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