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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. present — there
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. spring — the season
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. spell — magic
  8. swing — in golf
  9. present — the time now
  10. branch — a division
  11. last — to go on
  12. spring — of water
  13. last — finally
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. spell — letters
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. sharp — clever
  18. swing — music
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. spell — a short time
  21. present — a gift
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. spring — a coil
  24. swing — to play on

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