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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 116 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. staff — employees
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cap — a lid
  5. stock — shares
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. swing — to play on
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. staff — a stick
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. swing — in golf
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cap — of ice
  20. tear — from crying
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. staff — employees
  23. cap — a hat
  24. sharp — clever

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