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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. present — a gift
  10. bound — tied together
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bound — obliged
  13. present — there
  14. ground — the earth
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. present — the time now
  17. ground — crushed
  18. swing — music
  19. swing — in golf
  20. bound — certain
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. ground — a position
  24. swing — to play on

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