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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: coach · present · content · vault · swing · straw

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. present — the time now
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — music
  8. present — there
  9. content — the amount
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. vault — a safe
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. swing — in golf
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. present — a gift

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