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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. date — the fruit
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — to handle
  9. spring — a coil
  10. squash — to crush
  11. spring — of water
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — music
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. squash — the sport
  16. spring — the season
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. date — on the calendar

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