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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. swing — in golf
  5. press — newspapers
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. ground — a position
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. plane — a tool
  16. ground — the earth
  17. press — a publisher
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. pound — a weight
  22. press — to push
  23. ground — crushed
  24. pound — for dogs

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