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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. squash — the sport
  3. track — a song
  4. track — a path
  5. swing — music
  6. firm — a company
  7. present — a gift
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. squash — to crush
  11. saw — the tool
  12. swing — to play on
  13. track — to keep track
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. stock — goods
  16. present — there
  17. present — the time now
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. firm — decided
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. saw — the tool
  23. swing — in golf
  24. stock — shares

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