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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. swing — music
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wind — moving air
  5. shower — to wash
  6. tear — from crying
  7. hand — help
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. key — in music
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — rain
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kick — in football
  16. hand — in cards
  17. swing — in golf
  18. key — for a lock
  19. key — the most important part
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. swing — to play on
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. ball — a great time

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