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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. branch — a division
  6. bore — to drill
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. swing — to play on
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bore — to tire
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. spring — the season
  15. wind — moving air
  16. scale — in music
  17. wind — moving air
  18. spring — of water
  19. scale — size or range
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. chair — a leader
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. swing — music

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