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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 124 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. plane — a tool
  5. firm — decided
  6. swing — music
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bat — the animal
  12. swing — in golf
  13. land — to come down
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. firm — a company
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. firm — steady
  23. straw — dry grass
  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