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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — music
  7. suit — clothes
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. field — for sport
  14. content — the amount
  15. field — a subject
  16. wound — an injury
  17. swing — in golf
  18. field — farmland
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. suit — in cards
  21. suit — to fit
  22. content — happy
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — a trainer

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