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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. content — happy
  4. sharp — clever
  5. deal — to handle
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. rock — music
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. rock — a stone
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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