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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. court — for sport
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. squash — the sport
  5. swing — to play on
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. chest — a box
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. swing — in golf
  12. board — a committee
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. squash — to crush
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — hasty
  18. ground — crushed
  19. swing — music
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. board — to get on
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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