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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. game — wild animals
  3. prune — to trim
  4. swing — in golf
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. swing — music
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. firm — a company
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. scale — size or range
  12. rash — a series
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. scale — in music
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. game — a match
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. swing — to play on
  22. firm — steady
  23. firm — decided
  24. hide — animal skin

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