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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. squash — to crush
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. game — a match
  6. cell — in biology
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. spell — magic
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. spell — letters
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. spell — a short time
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — help
  18. cell — a phone
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. game — wild animals
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. squash — the sport
  24. cell — in a prison

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