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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. swing — music
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. last — to go on
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. swing — to play on
  11. prune — to trim
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. prune — to trim
  15. last — finally
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. last — final
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. land — to come down
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. swing — in golf
  23. land — ground
  24. land — a country

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