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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. roll — a cake
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. last — to go on
  6. roll — a list
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. branch — a division
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. dip — to sink
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. last — finally
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. last — final
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. dip — to dunk

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