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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a dance
  3. present — there
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. present — the time now
  6. tear — from crying
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. game — a match
  9. saw — the tool
  10. game — wild animals
  11. tear — from crying
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. tear — to rip
  14. present — a gift
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. saw — the tool
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. nail — for a hammer

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