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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. cold — not warm
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. bound — obliged
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bound — tied together
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. board — a committee
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cold — an illness
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. board — to get on
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. game — a match
  22. sharp — clever
  23. bound — certain
  24. nail — for a hammer

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