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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. rest — a break
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. board — to get on
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. swing — in golf
  14. sharp — clever
  15. swing — music
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. capital — a city
  20. swing — to play on
  21. board — a committee
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. coach — a trainer

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