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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rash — hasty
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. swing — music
  5. present — there
  6. content — happy
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. present — a gift
  11. swing — to play on
  12. season — of the year
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. rash — a series
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. present — the time now
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. swing — in golf
  20. content — the amount
  21. plane — a tool
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. wound — an injury

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