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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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. ball — a great time
  4. shower — rain
  5. face — to confront
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. degree — an amount
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. game — a match
  11. game — wild animals
  12. degree — temperature
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. lean — thin
  17. degree — from a university
  18. ball — a dance
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. lean — to bend
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. face — to point toward
  24. face — part of the head

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