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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. ground — a position
  4. saw — the tool
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. hand — help
  10. ground — the earth
  11. fall — to drop
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. ground — crushed
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fall — the season
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. swing — music
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. lie — to recline
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. pitch — completely
  22. fall — to drop
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. swing — to play on

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