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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. race — a contest
  3. chip — for betting
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pop — soda
  6. court — for sport
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. race — the arms race
  10. chip — to eat
  11. tear — from crying
  12. perch — the fish
  13. tear — to rip
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — for catching
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. pop — music
  18. race — humankind
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. court — of law
  21. net — in sport
  22. pop — to visit
  23. tear — from crying
  24. court — of a king

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