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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. spell — a short time
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. spell — letters
  14. sharp — clever
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bat — the animal
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — music
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. spell — magic
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. swing — to play on

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