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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. object — an aim
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. sharp — clever
  11. march — music
  12. bear — the animal
  13. march — the month
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. object — to protest
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. object — a thing
  21. game — wild animals
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. march — the month
  24. game — a match

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