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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. rock — music
  4. swing — music
  5. drill — a practice
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rock — a stone
  9. track — a path
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. craft — a skill
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. track — a song
  16. pop — music
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. swing — in golf
  19. pop — soda
  20. swing — to play on
  21. craft — boats
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — the tool
  24. pop — to visit

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