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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. stem — to come from
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. swing — music
  13. capital — a city
  14. press — newspapers
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bass — low music
  17. date — the fruit
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bass — the fish
  20. press — a publisher
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. press — to push
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. capital — money

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