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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. stock — shares
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. stock — goods
  9. squash — to crush
  10. face — part of the head
  11. squash — the sport
  12. face — to confront
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. swing — music
  20. pound — a weight
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. face — to point toward

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