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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. snap — to click
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fine — all right
  9. mate — a friend
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. swing — music
  12. club — a group
  13. swing — in golf
  14. club — for dancing
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. club — for golf
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. tear — from crying
  19. lie — to recline
  20. swing — to play on
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mate — to breed
  23. tear — to rip
  24. mate — a partner

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