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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. game — a match
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. squash — the sport
  6. game — wild animals
  7. stock — shares
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. scale — in music
  10. ground — a position
  11. wound — an injury
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. stock — goods
  16. scale — size or range
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. ground — crushed
  20. pass — a permit
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. ground — the earth
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. squash — to crush

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