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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. charge — in control
  3. game — wild animals
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. charge — a price
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. charge — electricity
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. game — a match
  19. kid — child
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. straw — dry grass

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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