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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. march — the month
  3. cue — for pool
  4. ground — the earth
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. march — the month
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. ground — a position
  9. swing — to play on
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cue — a hint
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. ground — crushed
  14. cue — a signal
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. march — music
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. swing — in golf
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. game — a match
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. swing — music
  24. game — wild animals

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