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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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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. chip — for betting
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. swing — in golf
  10. chip — to eat
  11. file — a document
  12. march — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. fine — high quality
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. swing — music
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. file — a tool
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. file — a line of people
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. temple — a place of worship

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