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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 116 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rash — hasty
  4. ground — crushed
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. ground — the earth
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. swing — to play on
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. ground — a position
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. swing — in golf
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. swing — music
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. rash — a series
  22. squash — to crush
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to bend

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