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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. club — a group
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. track — a song
  7. track — to keep track
  8. club — for dancing
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. ball — a great time
  12. deal — to handle
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. season — of the year
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. club — for golf
  19. season — in sport
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. track — a path
  22. sharp — clever
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. ball — a dance

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