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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. file — a tool
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. stock — shares
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bulb — for light
  12. mine — for digging
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. file — a line of people
  19. stock — goods
  20. saw — the tool
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bulb — for light
  24. file — a document

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