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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. swing — music
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. swing — to play on
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. key — the most important part
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. key — for a lock
  12. fall — to drop
  13. object — to protest
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. object — an aim
  18. ball — a dance
  19. fall — the season
  20. object — a thing
  21. swing — in golf
  22. key — in music
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — to crush

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