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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. suit — in cards
  4. squash — the sport
  5. swing — to play on
  6. pass — a permit
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. chest — of your body
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. game — a match
  12. suit — to fit
  13. swing — in golf
  14. chest — of your body
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. file — a document
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. chest — a box
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. squash — to crush
  23. suit — clothes
  24. swing — music

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