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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. capital — money
  3. hand — in cards
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. firm — a company
  11. hand — help
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. capital — a city
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. game — wild animals
  17. firm — steady
  18. chest — of your body
  19. firm — decided
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. game — a match
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. capital — a big letter

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