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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. content — the amount
  6. row — to paddle
  7. content — happy
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rash — a series
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rash — hasty
  14. track — a song
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. track — to keep track
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. track — a path
  20. swing — music
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. swing — in golf
  23. row — a line
  24. rash — on the skin

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