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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. game — a match
  4. mark — a grade
  5. game — wild animals
  6. cell — a phone
  7. mark — a trace
  8. chip — to eat
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. chip — for betting
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. cell — in biology
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. arm — part of the body

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