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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 116 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cap — a hat
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. cap — a lid
  13. game — a match
  14. can — to be able to
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wound — an injury
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. can — a tin
  20. game — wild animals
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. can — a tin
  23. cap — of ice
  24. bat — the animal

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