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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. object — an aim
  3. game — a match
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. game — wild animals
  9. net — in sport
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. mine — for digging
  12. lean — to bend
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. object — to protest
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. sharp — clever
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. lean — thin
  21. object — a thing
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. sharp — exactly

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