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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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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: face · drill · chip · swing · cold · coach · mouse · key

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. chip — to eat
  6. face — to confront
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. face — to point toward
  10. key — for a lock
  11. drill — the tool
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. drill — army training
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. key — the most important part
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. key — in music
  19. cold — an illness
  20. chip — for betting
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. face — part of the head
  23. drill — a practice
  24. chip — in a computer

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