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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. hand — in cards
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pop — to visit
  5. saw — the tool
  6. pop — music
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. mug — a cup
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hand — help
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. row — a line
  18. pop — soda
  19. mug — a face
  20. pass — a permit
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. row — to paddle

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