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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. spring — of water
  3. ball — a great time
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. spring — the season
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. fork — in a road
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. capital — a city
  16. spring — a coil
  17. ball — a dance
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. capital — money
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. straw — a straw man

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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