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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. game — a match
  5. cue — a hint
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cue — a signal
  9. swing — music
  10. board — a committee
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. game — wild animals
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — a gift
  15. race — a contest
  16. bat — the animal
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cue — for pool
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. swing — in golf
  22. present — there
  23. race — humankind
  24. board — to get on

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