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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. sharp — clever
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. spring — the season
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. spring — a coil
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. stand — to bear
  12. wound — an injury
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. swing — to play on
  16. shower — to wash
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — music
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. spring — of water
  24. shower — rain

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