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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. suit — clothes
  3. net — in sport
  4. club — for golf
  5. net — after costs
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. net — for catching
  8. tear — to rip
  9. suit — in cards
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. ground — the earth
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. hand — in cards
  17. club — a group
  18. ground — crushed
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. suit — to fit
  23. club — for dancing
  24. hand — help

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