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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. present — a gift
  5. game — wild animals
  6. present — the time now
  7. staff — a stick
  8. staff — employees
  9. spring — a coil
  10. mate — a partner
  11. sharp — clever
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. staff — employees
  14. mate — a friend
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mate — to breed
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. spring — of water
  22. present — there
  23. game — a match
  24. game — a kind of play

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