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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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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: mug · straw · chair · firm · wake · game · row · snap

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. firm — a company
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. mug — a face
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mug — a cup
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. snap — to click
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wake — a trail
  15. game — a match
  16. firm — steady
  17. mug — to rob
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. game — wild animals
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. row — a line

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