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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. swing — in golf
  3. wake — a trail
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. swing — music
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pass — a permit
  10. rule — government
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. rule — a law
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. ground — the earth
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. swing — to play on
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — crushed

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