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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. spell — magic
  4. court — for sport
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. game — a match
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. wind — moving air
  9. court — of a king
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. lie — to recline
  12. mark — a grade
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. spell — a short time
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mark — a trace
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. court — of law
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spell — letters
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. straw — a straw man

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