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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — a phone
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. key — the most important part
  9. fall — the season
  10. firm — a company
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. fall — to drop
  13. key — for a lock
  14. firm — steady
  15. pass — a permit
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. firm — decided
  20. spring — the season
  21. key — in music
  22. game — a match
  23. fall — to drop
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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