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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. kid — child
  4. club — for golf
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. race — a contest
  8. club — for dancing
  9. swing — to play on
  10. spring — of water
  11. pop — soda
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — a trail
  14. swing — music
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. race — humankind
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. race — the arms race
  19. club — a group
  20. spring — a coil
  21. swing — in golf
  22. pop — music
  23. kid — to tease
  24. pop — to visit

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