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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. wind — moving air
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. land — to come down
  7. pitch — completely
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. game — a match
  16. land — ground
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. game — wild animals
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. land — a country
  24. wind — moving air

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