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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: drill · land · swing · straw · calf · club · face · rest

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. land — a country
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — for dancing
  5. drill — a practice
  6. swing — in golf
  7. drill — army training
  8. land — to come down
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. land — ground
  11. swing — music
  12. face — to confront
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. face — to point toward
  15. drill — the tool
  16. rest — what's left
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. swing — to play on
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. rest — a break
  21. face — part of the head
  22. club — a group
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. rest — what's left

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