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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cell — in biology
  4. track — to keep track
  5. rest — what's left
  6. track — a song
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. cell — a phone
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. mug — a cup
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. track — a path
  21. game — a match
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mug — a face
  24. mug — to rob

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