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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 120 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. present — the time now
  3. present — a gift
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. present — there
  6. face — to confront
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. object — an aim
  9. stock — goods
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. object — to protest
  12. lean — thin
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. stock — shares
  15. object — a thing
  16. lean — to bend
  17. swing — in golf
  18. chest — of your body
  19. swing — to play on
  20. face — to point toward
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. face — part of the head
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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