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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. fine — all right
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. fine — high quality
  9. saw — the tool
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. squash — the sport
  15. game — a match
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. game — wild animals
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. squash — to crush
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. saw — the tool

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