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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. spell — magic
  5. cap — a lid
  6. file — a document
  7. swing — in golf
  8. cap — a hat
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pound — a weight
  11. spell — a short time
  12. file — a tool
  13. cap — of ice
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. fall — the season
  16. game — wild animals
  17. swing — to play on
  18. file — a line of people
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. spell — letters
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. game — a match

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