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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. spring — of water
  4. track — a song
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. swing — in golf
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. swing — music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. spring — a coil
  12. track — a path
  13. perch — the fish
  14. wound — an injury
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. track — to keep track
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. chair — a leader
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. swing — to play on
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spring — the season

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