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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. spring — of water
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. spring — the season
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. firm — steady
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. rash — hasty
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wind — moving air
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rash — a series
  19. wind — moving air
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. spring — a coil
  22. firm — decided
  23. game — a match
  24. straw — dry grass

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