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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: game · pound · straw · jam · last · fine

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. fine — high quality
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — a weight
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. last — final
  10. fine — all right
  11. last — finally
  12. game — wild animals
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. last — to go on
  18. jam — to spread on bread

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