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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. spell — letters
  5. object — to protest
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. content — happy
  9. kick — in football
  10. object — a thing
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. content — the amount
  14. ball — a great time
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. snap — to click
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. spell — a short time
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. spell — magic
  24. object — an aim

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