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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. spring — of water
  4. pound — a weight
  5. sharp — clever
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. swing — music
  8. lie — to recline
  9. court — of law
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. swing — to play on
  16. spring — the season
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. game — a match
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. swing — in golf
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. pound — to hit hard

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