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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. cell — in biology
  4. game — a match
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. current — electric
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pass — a permit
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pit — in a race
  19. bat — the animal
  20. current — happening now
  21. game — wild animals
  22. current — of water
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. wake — a trail

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