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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 116 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. land — a country
  5. ball — a dance
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. snap — to click
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. land — to come down
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. rock — music
  17. rock — a stone
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. ball — a great time
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. land — ground

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