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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 116 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. spring — of water
  5. game — a match
  6. chip — for betting
  7. bass — low music
  8. game — wild animals
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. chip — to eat
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument

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