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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. can — a tin
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. can — a tin
  6. deal — to handle
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. mine — for digging
  9. field — a subject
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. mark — a trace
  14. can — to be able to
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. mark — a grade
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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