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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. spring — a coil
  3. swing — to play on
  4. present — a gift
  5. rash — hasty
  6. spring — the season
  7. march — music
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. row — a line
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. present — there
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. row — to paddle
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. present — the time now
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. spring — of water
  23. rash — a series
  24. swing — music

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