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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. last — to go on
  3. bound — tied together
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. last — final
  6. bound — obliged
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bound — certain
  9. pop — music
  10. shower — rain
  11. stem — to come from
  12. last — finally
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. pop — soda
  15. shower — to wash
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. game — a match
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pop — to visit

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