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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. drill — army training
  3. game — a match
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ball — a great time
  8. scale — in music
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. wound — an injury
  12. can — a tin
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. drill — a practice
  15. scale — size or range
  16. drill — the tool
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. can — to be able to
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. ball — a dance
  23. can — a tin
  24. straw — dry grass

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