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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. last — to go on
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. kid — child
  7. scale — in music
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. swing — in golf
  11. scale — size or range
  12. last — finally
  13. kid — to tease
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. season — in sport
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. swing — music
  21. season — of the year
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. swing — to play on

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