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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. ground — a position
  5. staff — a stick
  6. swing — to play on
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. staff — employees
  10. swing — music
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. rash — a series
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. ground — crushed
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. rash — hasty
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. swing — in golf
  23. staff — employees
  24. ground — the earth

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