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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. drill — a practice
  3. spring — a coil
  4. swing — in golf
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. firm — steady
  7. net — in sport
  8. land — to come down
  9. swing — music
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. sharp — clever
  13. swing — to play on
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. chair — a leader
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. net — after costs
  18. land — ground
  19. drill — the tool
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. firm — decided
  22. land — a country
  23. drill — army training
  24. net — for catching

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