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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. rest — a break
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. rest — what's left
  8. present — there
  9. present — the time now
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. game — wild animals
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. rest — what's left
  14. land — ground
  15. present — a gift
  16. squash — to crush
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. land — a country
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. land — to come down
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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