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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. wind — moving air
  3. snap — to click
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. mate — a partner
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. wind — moving air
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. swing — to play on
  12. pound — a weight
  13. content — happy
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. mate — a friend
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. content — the amount
  19. sharp — clever
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. mate — to breed

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