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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 116 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. ball — a dance
  5. club — a group
  6. ball — a great time
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. club — for dancing
  10. club — for golf
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — a series
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wound — an injury
  15. clip — a video
  16. wound — an injury
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper

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