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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. rest — a break
  3. swing — to play on
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bear — the animal
  8. swing — music
  9. bear — the animal
  10. chair — a leader
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rest — what's left
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. swing — in golf
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rock — music
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. straw — dry grass

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