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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. game — wild animals
  3. spring — of water
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the fish
  14. chip — to eat
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. game — a match
  17. bark — to shout
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. spring — the season
  22. chip — for betting
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bass — the instrument

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