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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bear — the animal
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. march — the month
  5. game — wild animals
  6. shower — to wash
  7. mate — to breed
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. game — a match
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bear — the animal
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. march — the month
  16. mate — a friend
  17. file — a tool
  18. shower — rain
  19. mate — a partner
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. march — music
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bowl — to roll

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