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

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. shower — to wash
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bulb — for light
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bulb — for light
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ball — a great time
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. mate — to breed
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. mate — a friend
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. hide — to keep secret

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