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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. game — a match
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. swing — to play on
  6. rest — what's left
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stock — shares
  9. swing — music
  10. rest — what's left
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. chest — a box
  13. rest — a break
  14. mark — a trace
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. lean — thin
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. lean — to bend
  20. bat — the animal
  21. stock — goods
  22. mark — a grade
  23. chest — of your body
  24. game — a kind of play

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