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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. swing — to play on
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. row — a line
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. can — a tin
  10. bat — the animal
  11. last — finally
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. pitch — completely
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. can — to be able to
  19. swing — in golf
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. last — final
  22. row — to paddle
  23. swing — music
  24. can — a tin

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