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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. can — to be able to
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. can — a tin
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. swing — in golf
  9. field — farmland
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. field — for sport
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. row — a line
  16. field — a subject
  17. swing — music
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. row — to paddle
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. shower — rain
  22. chip — for betting
  23. can — a tin
  24. straw — a straw man

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