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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. swing — in golf
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. file — a line of people
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. fall — to drop
  7. swing — music
  8. court — for sport
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. swing — to play on
  12. file — a document
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. rest — a break
  15. court — of law
  16. rest — what's left
  17. file — a tool
  18. fall — the season
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. perch — the fish
  21. fall — to drop
  22. court — of a king
  23. deal — to handle
  24. deal — a big deal

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