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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. cold — an illness
  3. tear — from crying
  4. swing — in golf
  5. cold — not warm
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. tear — to rip
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. swing — music
  11. face — part of the head
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mate — to breed
  14. swing — to play on
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mate — a partner
  18. face — to point toward
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — to recline
  21. face — to confront
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. mate — a friend
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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