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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. ground — crushed
  3. tube — the underground
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. club — for dancing
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. ground — a position
  8. cell — in biology
  9. club — a group
  10. cell — a phone
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. rest — what's left
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. squash — the sport
  16. club — for golf
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. rest — a break
  19. squash — to crush
  20. tube — a container
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. rest — what's left
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. ground — the earth

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