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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 120 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. perch — the fish
  3. suit — in cards
  4. can — a tin
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. present — a gift
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. swing — in golf
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. can — a tin
  11. swing — music
  12. present — there
  13. file — a document
  14. suit — to fit
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. swing — to play on
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. can — to be able to
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. suit — clothes
  22. cold — not warm
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. cold — an illness

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