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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. wind — moving air
  3. saw — the tool
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. squash — to crush
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. saw — the tool
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. season — of the year
  13. row — a line
  14. game — a match
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wind — moving air
  18. squash — the sport
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. game — wild animals
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. row — to paddle
  24. season — in sport

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