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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — a match
  3. dip — to sink
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. bark — to shout
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. march — the month
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. stand — to bear

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