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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. swing — in golf
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wound — an injury
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. march — the month
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rock — music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rock — a stone
  14. fall — the season
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. fall — to drop
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. chip — for betting
  20. march — music
  21. swing — music
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. chip — to eat
  24. march — the month

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