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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 124 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pop — to visit
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. face — to confront
  6. row — a line
  7. pop — music
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. row — to paddle
  13. ground — crushed
  14. board — a committee
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. board — to get on
  17. ground — a position
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. net — after costs
  21. ground — the earth
  22. face — to point toward
  23. pop — soda
  24. face — part of the head

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