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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. content — the amount
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cell — a phone
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. swing — music
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. swing — to play on
  9. file — a document
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. cell — in biology
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. swing — in golf
  14. content — happy
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fine — all right
  17. shower — rain
  18. file — a tool
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rush — a thrill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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