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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wind — moving air
  4. present — the time now
  5. fork — in a road
  6. mug — a cup
  7. swing — music
  8. mug — to rob
  9. present — a gift
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. net — in sport
  12. swing — in golf
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. mug — a face
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wind — moving air
  19. net — after costs
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. net — for catching
  22. cold — not warm
  23. swing — to play on
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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