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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. swing — in golf
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. club — for dancing
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. mine — for digging
  10. club — a group
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. swing — to play on
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. staff — employees
  15. club — for golf
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. swing — music
  20. cap — of ice
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. deal — to handle
  23. cap — a lid
  24. deal — a big deal

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