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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. foot — a measure
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fork — in a road
  12. rock — music
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. squash — to crush
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. rock — a stone
  21. game — a match
  22. squash — the sport
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. squash — the vegetable

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