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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. swing — in golf
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pop — soda
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. swing — to play on
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pop — music
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. staff — employees
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. chest — a box
  22. pop — to visit
  23. swing — music
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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