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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 124 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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mate — a partner
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. track — a path
  5. mate — a friend
  6. band — a music group
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. content — the amount
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. band — a ring
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. track — a song
  16. mate — to breed
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. chair — a leader
  19. track — to keep track
  20. plane — a tool
  21. wind — moving air
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. plane — an aircraft

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