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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 116 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. swing — in golf
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. land — a country
  8. rush — hurry
  9. swing — to play on
  10. land — ground
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. swing — music
  13. land — to come down
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. content — happy
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. deal — to handle
  21. cell — a phone
  22. content — the amount
  23. cell — in biology
  24. rush — a thrill

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