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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. face — part of the head
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bound — certain
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. face — to confront
  10. hand — in cards
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bound — obliged
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bound — tied together
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. wake — a trail
  21. scale — in music
  22. game — a match
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. game — a kind of play

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