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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. tear — from crying
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. club — for golf
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. game — wild animals
  10. chest — a box
  11. track — to keep track
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. track — a song
  15. chest — of your body
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. club — a group
  21. tear — to rip
  22. track — a path
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. straw — dry grass

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