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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. mate — to breed
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. mate — a partner
  6. scale — in music
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. game — a match
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bass — the fish
  20. mate — a friend
  21. pass — a permit
  22. scale — size or range
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. straw — a straw man

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