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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mate — a friend
  3. game — a match
  4. pop — soda
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mate — to breed
  7. tube — the underground
  8. pop — music
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — a container
  11. pop — to visit
  12. mate — a partner
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. arm — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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