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

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. row — to paddle
  5. game — wild animals
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — clever
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. mark — a trace
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. sharp — with an edge

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