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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. land — a country
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. mark — a trace
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. chest — of your body
  15. land — to come down
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. kick — in football
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. land — ground
  23. fork — in a road
  24. chest — a box

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