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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ball — a great time
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. ball — a dance
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. ground — a position
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. wind — moving air
  20. game — a match
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bark — to shout
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. arm — part of the body

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