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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. ball — a dance
  4. wound — an injury
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. wound — an injury
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. race — a contest
  9. bat — the animal
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. ball — a great time
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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