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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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. chest — a box
  4. charge — a price
  5. chest — of your body
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. charge — electricity
  8. bound — certain
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bound — obliged
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bulb — for light
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bulb — for light
  20. charge — in control
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the fish
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. chest — of your 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