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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. swing — in golf
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. chip — to eat
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. chip — for betting
  8. spring — a coil
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pop — to visit
  11. rule — government
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. swing — to play on
  15. pop — soda
  16. spring — the season
  17. fork — in a road
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. saw — the tool
  20. spring — of water
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. pop — music
  23. swing — music
  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