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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. swing — in golf
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — a series
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. hand — help
  16. squash — to crush
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. net — for catching
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. swing — music
  23. squash — the sport
  24. wave — of the sea

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