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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: present · lean · game · file · straw · swing · cap · fine

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. fine — all right
  3. swing — music
  4. present — there
  5. game — wild animals
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. file — a tool
  8. fine — high quality
  9. cap — a hat
  10. present — a gift
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. file — a document
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. swing — to play on
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. swing — in golf
  17. present — the time now
  18. lean — thin
  19. file — a line of people
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a lid
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. game — a match

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