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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — in golf
  4. drill — army training
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. content — the amount
  8. swing — music
  9. foot — a measure
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. content — happy
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cap — a lid
  15. mine — for digging
  16. drill — a practice
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bore — to drill
  19. cap — a hat
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. bore — to tire
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. mine — an explosive

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