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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. net — for catching
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — in sport
  10. game — a match
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. hand — in cards
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. ground — crushed

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