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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 116 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 always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cue — for pool
  4. ground — the earth
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. land — a country
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. cold — not warm
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cue — a hint
  11. game — a match
  12. land — ground
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. cue — a signal
  16. cold — an illness
  17. game — wild animals
  18. ground — crushed
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. land — to come down
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. ground — a position

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