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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. face — to confront
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. net — after costs
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. net — in sport
  13. plane — a tool
  14. face — part of the head
  15. kid — child
  16. bear — the animal
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. bear — the animal
  19. game — wild animals
  20. net — for catching
  21. kid — to tease
  22. face — to point toward
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. game — a kind of play

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