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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 116 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. march — the month
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. march — the month
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. march — music
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. game — wild animals
  24. hide — to keep secret

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