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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. roll — a list
  6. roll — a cake
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. swing — in golf
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rest — a break
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. key — for a lock
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rest — what's left
  18. swing — to play on
  19. key — the most important part
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. rest — what's left
  23. swing — music
  24. key — in 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