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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: stick · mark · pit · spell · present · ball · game · straw

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. ball — a great time
  3. present — the time now
  4. spell — a short time
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pit — a hole
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pit — in a race
  9. spell — letters
  10. present — there
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. spell — magic
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. mark — a trace
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ball — a dance
  17. game — a match
  18. game — wild animals
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. present — a gift
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. mark — a grade

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