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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bat — the animal
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. spring — a coil
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. swing — to play on
  11. spring — of water
  12. foot — a measure
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. sharp — clever
  17. can — a tin
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. dip — to sink
  20. can — to be able to
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. swing — music
  23. can — a tin
  24. spring — the season

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