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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. chip — for betting
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. fall — to drop
  6. spell — magic
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. spell — a short time
  10. land — a country
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. fall — to drop
  13. spell — letters
  14. fall — the season
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — a stone
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. chip — to eat

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