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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.

Make a worksheet

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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. sharp — clever
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. wind — moving air
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. spring — the season
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. spring — of water
  13. chair — a leader
  14. spring — a coil
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. branch — a division
  24. wind — to turn a key

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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