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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 116 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. mate — a friend
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wake — a trail
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mate — to breed
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. mate — a partner
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. prune — to trim
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. saw — the tool
  24. game — a match

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