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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. capital — money
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. cell — in biology
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cell — a phone
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. race — a contest
  18. chair — a leader
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. race — humankind
  21. capital — a city
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. game — a match
  24. wave — with your hand

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