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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 120 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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. swing — in golf
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. pop — soda
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. chip — to eat
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chip — for betting
  10. sharp — clever
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. pop — music
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. swing — to play on
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. swing — music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cold — an illness
  22. saw — the tool
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. rash — a series

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