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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bank — for money
  6. kid — child
  7. field — farmland
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bank — of a river
  11. field — for sport
  12. present — there
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. game — wild animals
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. game — a match
  20. present — a gift
  21. bank — for money
  22. kid — to tease
  23. snap — to click
  24. field — a subject

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