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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. club — a group
  3. spell — magic
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. saw — the tool
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. club — for dancing
  9. game — a match
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. saw — the tool
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. game — wild animals
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. spell — letters
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. club — for golf
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rash — a series

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