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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. bat — the animal
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. mug — to rob
  10. mug — a face
  11. ball — a dance
  12. hand — in cards
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. lean — to bend
  15. hand — help
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. lean — thin
  18. mug — a cup
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a line
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. bat — in an idiom

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