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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. chest — of your body
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. last — to go on
  13. chest — a box
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. last — final
  22. ground — the earth
  23. last — finally
  24. coach — a trainer

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