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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  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. fine — a penalty
  2. rock — music
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — high quality
  5. swing — to play on
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rock — a stone
  9. swing — in golf
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cap — of ice
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. cap — a hat
  14. swing — music
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — clever
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. rest — a break
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. kid — to tease
  23. cap — a lid
  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