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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. present — there
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. clip — to cut
  5. ground — crushed
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. ground — a position
  8. firm — steady
  9. present — the time now
  10. clip — a video
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. clip — for paper
  14. firm — a company
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. ground — the earth
  17. present — a gift
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. board — to get on
  21. board — a committee
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. firm — decided
  24. pitcher — a jug

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