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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 116 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. spring — the season
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. swing — in golf
  7. wound — an injury
  8. firm — a company
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — government
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. swing — music
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. firm — decided
  19. spring — of water
  20. firm — steady
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. spring — a coil
  23. swing — to play on
  24. pitcher — a jug

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