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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mate — a friend
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. bass — low music
  10. mate — to breed
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. game — a match
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mate — a partner
  22. bass — the fish
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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