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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. spring — a coil
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. ground — crushed
  6. wind — moving air
  7. saw — the tool
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. swing — in golf
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chair — a leader
  13. saw — the tool
  14. craft — a skill
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. spring — the season
  18. swing — to play on
  19. ground — a position
  20. spring — of water
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. craft — boats
  23. swing — music
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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