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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. roll — a list
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. tube — a container
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. tube — the underground
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. sharp — clever
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — a partner
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. mate — to breed
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. wound — an injury
  24. roll — on a roll

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