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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. row — a line
  6. roll — a cake
  7. row — to paddle
  8. race — a contest
  9. swing — music
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. race — the arms race
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. race — humankind
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. game — wild animals
  18. march — the month
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. swing — to play on
  21. game — a match
  22. march — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. march — the month

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