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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. game — wild animals
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. board — to get on
  6. roll — a list
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. squash — the sport
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. spring — a coil
  11. degree — an amount
  12. board — a committee
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. spring — of water
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — from a university
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. squash — to crush
  20. spring — the season
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. game — a match

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