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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 120 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. race — a contest
  3. ball — a dance
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. hand — help
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. race — the arms race
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. race — humankind
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. hand — in cards
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. last — to go on
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. board — to get on
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. board — a committee
  23. last — final
  24. last — finally

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