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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. staff — employees
  3. chair — a leader
  4. swing — in golf
  5. cap — a hat
  6. spring — of water
  7. track — a song
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. cap — a lid
  10. swing — music
  11. track — to keep track
  12. foot — a measure
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. spring — a coil
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. track — a path
  20. cap — of ice
  21. spring — the season
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  24. foot — part of the body

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