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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wind — moving air
  5. hand — help
  6. swing — in golf
  7. pound — a weight
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cold — an illness
  14. hand — in cards
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. swing — to play on
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. swing — music
  24. leaves — to go away

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