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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. swing — in golf
  4. swing — to play on
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. sharp — clever
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. swing — music
  9. court — of law
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. court — for sport
  13. band — a music group
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. court — of a king
  16. band — a ring
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — dry grass

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