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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. ground — a position
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. kid — child
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pitch — completely
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. kid — to tease
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. capital — money
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. game — a match
  19. rock — music
  20. capital — a city
  21. rock — a stone
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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