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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. swing — in golf
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. swing — music
  5. spring — a coil
  6. fine — high quality
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. saw — the tool
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. sharp — clever
  16. wax — to grow
  17. board — to get on
  18. spring — the season
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. fine — all right
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. swing — to play on
  23. board — a committee
  24. saw — the tool

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