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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. mark — a trace
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. object — a thing
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. can — to be able to
  8. file — a tool
  9. court — of a king
  10. can — a tin
  11. object — to protest
  12. game — wild animals
  13. object — an aim
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. court — for sport
  16. mark — a grade
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. file — a document
  19. game — a match
  20. court — of law
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. file — a line of people

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