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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. rock — music
  3. ball — a great time
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. cold — an illness
  7. hand — in cards
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. club — a group
  14. spell — magic
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. club — for golf
  19. ball — a dance
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rock — a stone
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. spell — letters
  24. hand — help

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