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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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Word bank
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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: last · pound · fall · lie · swing · sharp · coach · row

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. pound — a weight
  3. lie — to recline
  4. last — finally
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. row — a line
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. sharp — clever
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. last — final
  13. swing — to play on
  14. fall — the season
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. swing — music
  18. last — to go on
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. swing — in golf
  22. row — to paddle
  23. fall — to drop
  24. sharp — exactly

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