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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. drill — a practice
  4. wind — moving air
  5. court — of law
  6. track — a path
  7. court — of a king
  8. drill — the tool
  9. firm — a company
  10. drill — army training
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. track — a song
  14. firm — steady
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. plane — a tool
  17. firm — decided
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. court — for sport
  20. track — to keep track
  21. wind — moving air
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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