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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 120 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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. firm — a company
  3. firm — decided
  4. mate — a friend
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. last — final
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fine — high quality
  12. swing — in golf
  13. last — to go on
  14. cold — an illness
  15. firm — steady
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fine — all right
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. mate — a partner
  20. ball — a great time
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — music
  23. mate — to breed
  24. last — finally

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