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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. net — after costs
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. mark — a grade
  10. field — a subject
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. net — for catching
  13. swing — music
  14. game — a match
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. field — for sport
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. field — farmland
  19. net — in sport
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. mark — a trace
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. swing — to play on
  24. sharp — clever

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