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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. game — a match
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bark — to shout
  8. court — of a king
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — certain
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bound — obliged
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. court — for sport
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. court — of law
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. rock — a stone
  23. chair — a leader
  24. rock — music

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