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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. swing — music
  4. scale — in music
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. charge — electricity
  7. swing — to play on
  8. shower — to wash
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. charge — in control
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. charge — a price
  13. game — a match
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. scale — size or range
  16. pass — a permit
  17. shower — rain
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. game — wild animals
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. swing — in golf
  23. branch — a division
  24. pass — to spend time

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