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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. swing — in golf
  4. wound — an injury
  5. shower — rain
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. current — happening now
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. squash — the sport
  11. current — electric
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. shower — to wash
  14. rash — a series
  15. swing — music
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — completely
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. current — of water
  23. swing — to play on
  24. squash — to crush

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