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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. court — for sport
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. swing — in golf
  5. ground — a position
  6. squash — to crush
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. swing — music
  9. pop — music
  10. court — of a king
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. present — a gift
  14. pop — soda
  15. lie — to recline
  16. swing — to play on
  17. present — there
  18. pop — to visit
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. ground — crushed
  21. court — of law
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. squash — the sport
  24. ground — the earth

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