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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 116 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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. face — part of the head
  7. object — to protest
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. object — an aim
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. object — a thing
  13. swing — to play on
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bark — to shout
  17. swing — music
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — to point toward
  20. track — a song
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a path
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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