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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — to play on
  4. craft — a skill
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rock — a stone
  9. lean — to bend
  10. rock — music
  11. craft — boats
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. march — music
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. swing — music
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mate — to breed
  18. saw — the tool
  19. mate — a partner
  20. march — the month
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. lean — thin
  23. march — the month
  24. straw — dry grass

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