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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. mug — to rob
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. swing — music
  7. clip — a video
  8. mug — a face
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — certain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. clip — for paper
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. swing — to play on
  17. stock — shares
  18. deal — to handle
  19. stock — goods
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bound — obliged
  23. mug — a cup
  24. shower — rain

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