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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cue — a hint
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bark — to shout
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. pop — to visit
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pop — music
  14. cue — a signal
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. stock — goods
  17. game — wild animals
  18. stock — shares
  19. game — a match
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pop — soda
  24. cue — for pool

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