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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. lean — to bend
  3. hand — in cards
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. chest — a box
  6. swing — to play on
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. drill — a practice
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. swing — music
  11. chest — of your body
  12. drill — the tool
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. pop — to visit
  15. swing — in golf
  16. pop — soda
  17. drill — army training
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. lean — thin
  20. hand — help
  21. pop — music
  22. game — a match
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. chest — of your body

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