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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. fall — the season
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. press — to push
  5. rash — a series
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — in a road
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. rash — hasty
  11. content — the amount
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — music
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. content — happy
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. fall — to drop
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. press — newspapers
  22. fall — to drop
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. press — a publisher

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