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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. wound — an injury
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. perch — the fish
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. spring — the season
  7. march — the month
  8. swing — in golf
  9. spring — of water
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. spring — a coil
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. swing — music
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. swing — to play on
  24. perch — for a bird

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