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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. row — a line
  3. bound — certain
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — in golf
  6. bound — obliged
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. stock — shares
  12. ground — crushed
  13. drill — army training
  14. rash — a series
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. stock — goods
  18. bound — tied together
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — a position
  21. swing — music
  22. rash — hasty
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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