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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. game — a match
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. mine — for digging
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. ball — a great time
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. ball — a dance
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. prune — to trim
  20. board — to get on
  21. board — a committee
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pass — a permit
  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