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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. swing — music
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — for dancing
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. club — a group
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bear — the animal
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. spell — magic
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. clip — for paper
  16. swing — in golf
  17. wake — a trail
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. clip — a video
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bear — the animal
  24. spell — letters

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