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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 120 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. spring — the season
  4. game — wild animals
  5. scale — in music
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rock — a stone
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. rock — music
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. kid — to tease
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. spring — of water
  20. game — a match
  21. fine — all right
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. rock — to move gently

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