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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. sharp — clever
  3. deal — to handle
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. swing — music
  6. cold — an illness
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. craft — boats
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cold — not warm
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. staff — a stick
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. staff — employees
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. swing — to play on
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. swing — in golf
  23. staff — employees
  24. craft — a skill

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