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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. squash — the sport
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. field — farmland
  5. swing — music
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. field — a subject
  8. capital — money
  9. mate — a partner
  10. squash — to crush
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — to breed
  13. object — a thing
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. fine — high quality
  17. capital — a city
  18. swing — in golf
  19. fine — all right
  20. field — for sport
  21. object — an aim
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. object — to protest

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