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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 116 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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. clip — to cut
  3. race — the arms race
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. ball — a great time
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. tear — from crying
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. squash — to crush
  15. clip — for paper
  16. race — a contest
  17. bass — the fish
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — low music
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. ball — a dance
  23. race — humankind
  24. clip — a video

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