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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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. mine — for digging
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. kid — child
  11. game — a match
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. rule — government
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. rule — a law
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — to tease
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. game — wild animals
  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