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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — crushed
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. swing — in golf
  10. current — of water
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. current — electric
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wax — to grow
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. ground — a position
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. swing — music
  20. lie — to recline
  21. current — happening now
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wound — an injury

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