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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. cold — not warm
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. deal — to handle
  7. rest — what's left
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bat — the animal
  14. rest — a break
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. swing — music
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. cold — an illness
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. swing — to play on
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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