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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. clip — to cut
  4. hand — help
  5. spring — of water
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. fine — all right
  8. spring — a coil
  9. clip — a video
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. fine — high quality
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spring — the season
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. clip — for paper
  20. hand — in cards
  21. toast — bread
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cabinet — ministers

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