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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 116 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. tear — to rip
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. band — a music group
  9. ground — crushed
  10. swing — music
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. tear — from crying
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. net — for catching
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. tear — from crying
  20. net — in sport
  21. ball — a dance
  22. net — after costs
  23. bat — the animal
  24. band — a ring

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