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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bark — to shout
  9. swing — to play on
  10. drill — the tool
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. spring — of water
  13. pitch — completely
  14. drill — army training
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. spring — a coil
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. swing — in golf
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. spring — the season
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — a law
  24. rule — government

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