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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. tear — from crying
  8. firm — a company
  9. chair — a leader
  10. firm — steady
  11. plane — a tool
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pass — a permit
  17. tear — to rip
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. firm — decided
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. spring — a coil
  24. straw — a straw man

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