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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. pop — soda
  3. bat — the animal
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. pop — music
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bark — to shout
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. game — wild animals
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. game — a match
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. straw — a straw man

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