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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. hand — help
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. perch — the fish
  6. last — final
  7. hand — in cards
  8. swing — music
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. last — to go on
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. ground — a position
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. last — finally
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — in golf
  24. fine — all right

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