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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. face — part of the head
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. swing — music
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. face — to point toward
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. fall — to drop
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. fall — the season
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. face — to confront
  22. swing — in golf
  23. cell — a phone
  24. swing — to play on

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