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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — to visit
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. game — wild animals
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. foot — a measure
  18. game — a match
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. capital — a city
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. pop — music
  24. capital — money

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