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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: wound · coach · swing · charge · tear · file · firm · game

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. tear — from crying
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. charge — a price
  5. game — wild animals
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. wound — an injury
  9. game — a match
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. charge — in control
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. firm — decided
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. firm — steady
  19. wound — an injury
  20. file — a document
  21. swing — to play on
  22. firm — a company
  23. charge — electricity
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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