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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — army training
  5. pop — to visit
  6. content — the amount
  7. ball — a dance
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. roll — a cake
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rock — music
  12. rock — a stone
  13. ball — a great time
  14. pop — soda
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bat — the animal
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. content — happy
  24. pop — music

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