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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: straw · perch · jam · game · ground · shower · swing · dip

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. ground — crushed
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. shower — to wash
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. dip — to sink
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. swing — music
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. ground — a position
  14. game — a match
  15. game — wild animals
  16. swing — in golf
  17. shower — rain
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. ground — the earth
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. dip — a sauce

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