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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. swing — in golf
  3. present — the time now
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cue — for pool
  7. present — a gift
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. swing — music
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. cue — a hint
  13. capital — money
  14. sharp — clever
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. chair — a leader
  20. present — there
  21. cue — a signal
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. capital — a city
  24. swing — to play on

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