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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cell — a phone
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cue — a signal
  5. swing — music
  6. spell — a short time
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. spell — letters
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. cue — a hint
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. swing — in golf
  15. shower — to wash
  16. cell — in biology
  17. swing — to play on
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. shower — rain
  22. cue — for pool
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. spell — magic

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