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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 120 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. deal — to handle
  5. game — wild animals
  6. cold — an illness
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. charge — electricity
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. game — a match
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mark — a trace
  17. charge — in control
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. tube — the underground
  20. mark — a grade
  21. court — of law
  22. tube — a container
  23. charge — a price
  24. mark — to pay attention

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