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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. pop — to visit
  3. swing — to play on
  4. pit — in a race
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. pop — music
  9. swing — music
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. present — a gift
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. swing — in golf
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. pop — soda
  19. pit — a hole
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. present — there
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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