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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. kick — in football
  3. swing — in golf
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — all right
  8. mine — for digging
  9. cell — in biology
  10. squash — to crush
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. swing — music
  13. present — the time now
  14. cell — a phone
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. present — a gift
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. swing — to play on
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. present — there
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. kick — with a leg

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