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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. bat — the animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — clever
  14. lie — to recline
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — a short time
  20. band — a music group
  21. spell — magic
  22. swing — music
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. sharp — with an edge

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