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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 120 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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. game — a kind of play
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. mark — a grade
  5. face — to point toward
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. mark — a trace
  8. game — a match
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. squash — the sport
  11. face — to confront
  12. fall — to drop
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. fall — the season
  15. squash — to crush
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. mine — for digging
  18. game — wild animals
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. face — part of the head
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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