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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. drill — a practice
  9. squash — the sport
  10. drill — the tool
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. swing — music
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. swing — to play on
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. swing — in golf
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. drill — army training

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