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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. present — there
  3. charge — electricity
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. band — a music group
  6. rock — a stone
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chest — of your body
  12. present — the time now
  13. charge — a price
  14. chest — a box
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. band — a ring
  17. chest — of your body
  18. present — a gift
  19. charge — in control
  20. game — a match
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. straw — a straw man

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