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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. lean — thin
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. roll — a list
  6. lean — to bend
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. foot — a measure
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wound — an injury
  12. roll — a cake
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. game — wild animals
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. game — a match
  20. wound — an injury
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. patient — a sick person

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