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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. swing — in golf
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. swing — to play on
  7. hand — help
  8. row — to paddle
  9. current — of water
  10. current — electric
  11. cap — a hat
  12. pitch — completely
  13. rash — a series
  14. cap — a lid
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. swing — music
  21. cap — of ice
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rash — hasty
  24. current — happening now

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