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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. land — to come down
  4. game — wild animals
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. land — ground
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. last — to go on
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. land — a country
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. last — final
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. game — a match
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. shower — rain
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. stand — to bear
  19. snap — to click
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — to handle
  22. shower — to wash
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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