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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. game — wild animals
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stock — goods
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cap — of ice
  10. roll — a cake
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. stock — shares
  13. game — a match
  14. roll — a list
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chest — a box
  19. cap — a hat
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. ball — a great time
  22. cap — a lid
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ball — a dance

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