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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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Word bank
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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: straw · ruler · hide · leaves · ground · game · wake · snap

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ground — crushed
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. game — a match
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. snap — to click
  16. wake — a trail
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. game — wild animals
  20. ground — the earth
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. ground — a position
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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