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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. cue — for pool
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. land — ground
  7. deal — to handle
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. cue — a hint
  13. land — to come down
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. land — a country
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. fall — the season
  22. cue — a signal
  23. fall — to drop
  24. row — to paddle

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