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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. spell — letters
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — the animal
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — to handle
  11. rest — what's left
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. swing — to play on
  14. spell — magic
  15. wind — moving air
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. swing — music
  19. spell — a short time
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. swing — in golf
  22. rest — a break
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. dip — a sauce

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