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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. present — the time now
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stand — to bear
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — rain
  10. swing — music
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. bat — the animal
  13. track — a song
  14. track — a path
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. present — there
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. swing — in golf
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. track — to keep track
  24. present — a gift

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