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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. last — final
  3. rock — music
  4. last — to go on
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. last — finally
  8. track — a path
  9. swing — music
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. current — happening now
  12. swing — to play on
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. track — a song
  15. current — electric
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. swing — in golf
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — to eat
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. current — of water
  23. track — to keep track
  24. rock — a stone

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