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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. firm — decided
  3. cold — an illness
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. club — for golf
  6. swing — music
  7. club — for dancing
  8. firm — steady
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. swing — in golf
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. club — a group
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. game — a match
  15. press — a publisher
  16. firm — a company
  17. press — to push
  18. press — newspapers
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. game — wild animals
  21. swing — to play on
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — the fruit

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