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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. rash — hasty
  3. content — the amount
  4. mate — to breed
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. rash — a series
  9. ball — a great time
  10. swing — to play on
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. mate — a friend
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. swing — music
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. lie — to recline
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. content — happy
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. swing — in golf
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. ball — a dance
  23. mate — a partner
  24. lie — an untruth

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