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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 116 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 met the new head ________________?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. pop — music
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. pop — soda
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. cold — not warm
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. swing — music
  16. content — happy
  17. swing — in golf
  18. content — the amount
  19. bark — to shout
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pop — to visit
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. cold — an illness
  24. swing — to play on

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