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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. fall — the season
  5. chest — of your body
  6. game — a match
  7. chest — a box
  8. game — wild animals
  9. rock — a stone
  10. net — for catching
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. net — after costs
  15. fall — to drop
  16. net — in sport
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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