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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. swing — to play on
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. can — a tin
  5. swing — music
  6. content — happy
  7. can — a tin
  8. content — the amount
  9. swing — in golf
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. court — for sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. court — of a king
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. court — of law
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. march — music
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. calf — of the leg

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