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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 116 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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. shower — to wash
  4. game — wild animals
  5. mark — a grade
  6. key — for a lock
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. cap — a lid
  10. key — in music
  11. cap — a hat
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. cap — of ice
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. game — a match
  20. stand — to bear
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. key — the most important part
  24. mark — a trace

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