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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 120 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. wake — a trail
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. kid — child
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. rock — music
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. ball — a great time
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. ball — a dance
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rock — a stone
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. game — a match
  23. bark — to shout
  24. rock — to move gently

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