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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. march — the month
  7. band — a music group
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. last — final
  10. ball — a dance
  11. hand — in cards
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. last — finally
  17. march — the month
  18. band — a ring
  19. march — music
  20. hand — help
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. last — to go on

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