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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. fine — all right
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. row — a line
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. row — to paddle
  9. game — a match
  10. fine — high quality
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. present — the time now
  13. game — wild animals
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. present — a gift
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. bat — the animal
  23. present — there
  24. row — a quarrel

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