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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. swing — music
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. spell — letters
  6. net — after costs
  7. wound — an injury
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. wound — an injury
  10. charge — in control
  11. swing — to play on
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. net — in sport
  15. march — the month
  16. swing — in golf
  17. spell — a short time
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. charge — electricity
  20. spell — magic
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. charge — a price
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. net — for catching

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