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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  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. swing — in golf
  2. court — for sport
  3. rash — hasty
  4. court — of a king
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rash — a series
  8. ground — a position
  9. mine — for digging
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. ground — crushed
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. ground — the earth
  15. swing — to play on
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. swing — music
  19. perch — the fish
  20. court — of law
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. lie — to recline
  23. perch — for a bird
  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