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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 116 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. present — a gift
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. swing — music
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. spring — the season
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. ball — a dance
  11. mine — for digging
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. spring — of water
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. spring — a coil
  16. present — the time now
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. present — there
  22. deal — to handle
  23. swing — in golf
  24. ball — a great time

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