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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. swing — in golf
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. last — to go on
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mug — a cup
  10. swing — to play on
  11. pass — a permit
  12. last — final
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. mug — to rob
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. swing — music
  17. game — a match
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — from a university
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. game — wild animals
  23. last — finally
  24. mug — a face

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