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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bass — the fish
  3. game — wild animals
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. chair — a leader
  6. sharp — clever
  7. current — electric
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — music
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. bass — low music
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. game — a match
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. current — happening now
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. current — of water
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. racket — for tennis

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