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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. game — a match
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. stock — shares
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. staff — employees
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. staff — a stick
  13. stock — goods
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. scale — in music
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. staff — employees
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. scale — size or range
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. chair — a leader

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