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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bound — obliged
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. bound — certain
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bound — tied together
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — hasty
  14. chest — a box
  15. game — wild animals
  16. chest — of your body
  17. game — a match
  18. snap — to click

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