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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. hand — help
  3. foot — a measure
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. chest — a box
  10. game — wild animals
  11. sharp — clever
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. game — a match
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. chest — of your body
  19. drill — a practice
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. drill — the tool
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. drill — army training

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