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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: game · bay · tear · swing · firm · straw · lean · cell

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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. bay — a part of the sea
  2. cell — a phone
  3. swing — in golf
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. firm — decided
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. lean — thin
  8. tear — to rip
  9. swing — to play on
  10. firm — steady
  11. lean — to bend
  12. game — a match
  13. swing — music
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. firm — a company
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. cell — in biology
  23. game — wild animals
  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