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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. ball — a dance
  7. tear — to rip
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. mark — a grade
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. club — a group
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ball — a great time
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. fork — in a road
  21. mark — a trace
  22. tear — from crying
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — for golf

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