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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. net — for catching
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bear — the animal
  5. rash — hasty
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. game — a match
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. net — in sport
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bear — the animal
  13. ground — crushed
  14. tube — the underground
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. ground — the earth
  17. rash — a series
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. tube — a container
  21. mine — for digging
  22. ground — a position
  23. net — after costs
  24. game — wild animals

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