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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 120 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — in golf
  4. suit — in cards
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fork — in a road
  8. swing — to play on
  9. suit — clothes
  10. bound — certain
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bound — tied together
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cold — not warm
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. bound — obliged
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. chest — a box
  24. suit — to fit

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