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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. saw — the tool
  5. stock — goods
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — to crush
  9. swing — in golf
  10. shower — to wash
  11. saw — the tool
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. squash — the sport
  14. shower — rain
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. swing — music
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pop — music
  19. stock — shares
  20. bat — the animal
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. swing — to play on
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. pop — soda

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