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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. staff — employees
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. staff — employees
  6. mug — a face
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. saw — the tool
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mug — a cup
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. ground — a position
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. staff — a stick
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. ground — crushed
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. game — a match
  22. mug — to rob
  23. wake — a trail
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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