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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — the fish
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — to get on
  11. saw — the tool
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — wild animals
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bass — low music
  18. swing — to play on
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. saw — the tool
  21. game — a match
  22. swing — music
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. swing — in golf

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