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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. rest — what's left
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. rest — what's left
  7. field — a subject
  8. swing — music
  9. field — for sport
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bound — certain
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bound — tied together
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. field — farmland
  17. kick — in football
  18. rest — a break
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bound — obliged
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — in golf

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