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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. rule — a law
  3. spell — letters
  4. swing — to play on
  5. drill — the tool
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. current — happening now
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — a short time
  12. drill — army training
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. sharp — clever
  17. chest — of your body
  18. current — electric
  19. current — of water
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. swing — music
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. drill — a practice
  24. sharp — with an edge

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