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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bear — the animal
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. bear — the animal
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rule — a law
  17. cold — an illness
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — music
  20. rule — government
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. scale — in music
  24. rule — to rule out

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